Sermon Summary: “Forgetting What Is Behind You, Living for Christ”

1. A Call to a Year of Yielding

The sermon opens with a prophetic emphasis for the new year: a year of yielding. God’s will is not accomplished in believers’ lives through effort alone, but through surrender. Just as Jesus yielded His will to the Father in Gethsemane, believers are called to yield their strength, plans, and control to God so His purposes can be fulfilled.

1. Sanctification Comes Through Yielding

Believers are already perfected in Christ, yet are continually being sanctified. Sanctification is not achieved by striving, but by yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit. Our position in Christ is greater than our current condition, and real spiritual growth requires humility, honesty, and willingness to change.

1. Peter’s Failure Reveals the Danger of Self-Confidence

Through Matthew 26, the sermon examines Peter’s denial of Jesus. Peter failed because he:

• Refused to believe Jesus’ warning
• Neglected prayer and watchfulness
• Substituted action for prayer
• Followed Jesus from a distance
• Catered to his flesh

This progression shows how spiritual drift leads to open denial when believers rely on self-confidence rather than surrender.

1. Yielding Prevents Spiritual Collapse

Jesus warned, “Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation.” The sermon explains the difference between falling into temptation and entering into it deliberately. Yielding involves intentionally setting one’s life up for spiritual success through prayer, discipline, and obedience.

1. God’s Grace Restores the Fallen

Despite Peter’s failure, God’s grace was greater. Fifty days later, Peter stood up on the Day of Pentecost and preached the most powerful sermon in history. This demonstrates that failure does not disqualify a yielded heart. God restores those who repent and trust His grace.

1. Forgetting What Is Behind

From Philippians 3, the sermon teaches that many believers are controlled by their past. “Forgetting” does not mean erasing memory, but neglecting its power. Paul deliberately turned away from both sinful and successful parts of his past so he could pursue Christ fully.

1. Yielding Requires Intentional Neglect of the Past

Believers must choose to lay aside memories, regrets, accomplishments, and wounds that hinder forward movement. No counselor or circumstance can do this for someone—it is a personal decision empowered by the Holy Spirit.

1. A Unified Pursuit of Christ

The church is described as a people who are “with it” because they share the same pursuit, not because of obligation or structure. When believers wake each day seeking to please God, unity naturally follows.

1. Final Call

The sermon concludes with a strong call to surrender:

• Yield fully to God
• Forget what is behind
• Press toward the upward call of Christ
• Live not by sight, but by faith

Believers are challenged to enter the new year with renewed commitment, trusting that a yielded life leads to freedom, restoration, and spiritual power.

Sermon Summary: Joshua – Session 11 (Ending the Year Right)

1. God Calls His People to Possess What He Has Given

As the land is divided in Joshua 17–18, God reminds Israel that the inheritance already belongs to them—but they must rise up and take possession. Delayed obedience, fear of opposition, or spiritual passivity keeps believers from fully walking in God’s promises.

1. Incomplete Obedience Leads to Future Struggles

Some tribes failed to fully drive out the Canaanites, choosing compromise instead of obedience. What is tolerated today often becomes a snare tomorrow. God calls His people to remove what competes with devotion, not manage it.

1. Faith Requires Action, Not Excuses

When tribes complained about limited territory, Joshua challenged them to get up and do the work. God had already given them power, but they had to act in faith. Blessing follows obedience, diligence, and courage—not passivity.

1. The Lord Is Our True Inheritance

The Levites received no land because the Lord Himself was their inheritance. This points to a greater truth for believers today: our ultimate reward is not earthly security but life with God. Like Abraham, believers are called to live as pilgrims, prioritizing spiritual inheritance over temporary comfort.

1. God Is a Refuge for the Guilty and Broken

The cities of refuge reveal God’s mercy. Long before sin occurred, God provided a place of safety. These cities foreshadow Jesus Christ as our refuge, where sinners can flee for forgiveness, protection, and restoration.

1. Salvation Must Be Received, Not Ignored

A refuge only saves those who run to it. Jesus is God’s provision for sin, but each person must choose to enter. Trusting in goodness, effort, or delay is dangerous—Christ alone is the safe place.

1. A Call to Renewed Commitment

As the year closes, the sermon challenges believers to:

• Be honest with themselves
• Reject spiritual sluggishness
• Recommit to disciplined faith
• Place God first without reservation

The message closes with hope: when all hope seems lost, the Lord shows up. God remains faithful, and those who trust Him will find safety, purpose, and victory in Him.

Sermon Summary: “Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Besides Me”

1. God Must Be First—Always

The sermon opens with Exodus 20, where God establishes the first commandment: nothing is allowed to come before Him. This command is foundational because when God is not first, every other area of life eventually becomes disordered. Even temporary distractions or misplaced priorities can function as false gods if they take precedence over God.

1. Idolatry Is Often Subtle

Modern idolatry is rarely statues or images—it is anything that competes for God’s place. Satan works primarily as a deceiver, making good or neutral things seem more important than God. Careers, relationships, possessions, comfort, and personal ambitions can quietly move ahead of God, especially during seasons of pressure or busyness.

1. Jesus Demands Supreme Loyalty

Jesus reinforces this command in the New Testament, teaching that no relationship or pursuit—even family—can outrank devotion to Him. Loving anyone or anything more than Christ disqualifies true discipleship. This does not diminish human love, but properly orders it under a supreme love for God.

1. Counting the Cost of Discipleship

Following Jesus requires intentional commitment. He warns that disciples must count the cost, understanding that faith involves sacrifice, endurance, and perseverance. Those who begin without resolve often fall away when pressure, ridicule, or difficulty arises.

1. A Disciple Is Permanently Committed

The sermon explains that a disciple is not someone who tries Christianity, but someone who has made a decisive act with permanent results. True disciples are “glued,” “fused,” and fully attached to Christ and His teachings, refusing to live a divided life or allow compromise.

1. Spiritual Danger of Becoming Sluggish

Scripture warns against becoming spiritually sluggish—not sinful rebellion, but spiritual laziness. When diligence fades, prayer weakens, Scripture becomes neglected, and God gradually loses first place. Faithfulness requires intentional effort and consistency.

1. God Rewards Undivided Hearts

Psalm 84 highlights the blessing of those whose strength is in the Lord and whose hearts are set on the journey with Him. God withholds no good thing from those who remain upright, coupled, and fully devoted. A day in God’s presence is better than anything the world offers.

1. Trusting God With the Impossible

The sermon concludes with the challenge of the “Impossibility List”—placing before God needs that only He can accomplish. This practice reinforces trust, keeps God first, and builds faith as believers watch Him answer prayers over time.

1. Final Call

Believers are urged to examine their lives, realign priorities, and recommit to placing God first in every area. When hope seems lost, God proves Himself faithful. True discipleship begins and continues with this resolve: no other gods—only Him.

Sermon Summary: “Who Hijacked Christmas?”

1. Christians Reclaimed Christmas

The sermon explains that Christmas was not stolen from Christianity—Christians intentionally reclaimed it. Long before Christ, pagan cultures celebrated the winter solstice with fleshly festivals. Believers stepped into that moment and redirected the season to focus on God sending His Son. Rather than abandoning the season, the church redeemed it for truth.

1. The Birth Matters Because the Resurrection Matters

While the resurrection is the greatest event in history, the birth had to happen first. Christmas is celebrated not because of a date on the calendar, but because without the birth there is no cross, no empty tomb, and no salvation. Celebrating Christ’s birth honors the beginning of God’s redemptive plan.

1. Defending the Virgin Birth

A central emphasis of the sermon is the virgin birth. Jesus was not merely born—He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. This supernatural conception is essential to Christianity. If Jesus is not born of a virgin, He is not the Son of God and Christianity becomes just another religion. The church historically elevated Christmas to defend this truth when it came under attack.

1. Jesus Is the Good Shepherd and God’s Gift

Through John 10 and the illustration of the candy cane, the sermon teaches that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep. The red represents His blood, the white His purity, and the shepherd’s staff His care and protection. Jesus came to give abundant life and eternal life.

1. Celebration Is Biblical

Just as Israel celebrated God’s miracles (such as Hanukkah), believers are encouraged to celebrate God’s greatest miracle—Jesus Christ. Celebration does not equal compromise. Giving gifts reflects God’s nature, because God loved and gave first. Materialism is a heart issue, not a Christmas issue.

1. The Unseen Became Seen

The sermon highlights that Christmas marks the moment when the unseen God became visible. Jesus stepped into human history, walked in our shoes, suffered, and redeemed humanity. His coming proves God did not abandon a fallen world but entered it to save it.

1. Stand for Christ in Every Season

Believers are called to stand boldly for Jesus—not just at Christmas, but in every moment of life. The world is imperfect, but Christians are light in darkness, using every opportunity to point others to Christ rather than withdrawing from culture.

1. The Greatest Gift Still Offered

The message concludes by reminding listeners that Jesus is still healing, delivering, restoring, and saving. He is the Anointed One who sets captives free. Christmas ultimately declares that God sent His Son as a ransom, offering forgiveness, healing, and eternal life to all who believe.

This sermon explains that Christians did not lose Christmas—they redeemed it. While many cultures celebrated pagan festivals around the winter solstice, believers intentionally reclaimed the season to celebrate the greatest gift ever given: Jesus Christ. Though Jesus was likely not born in December, the timing does not diminish the meaning. The focus is on why we celebrate, not the calendar date.

The message emphasizes that the birth of Jesus is essential, because without the birth there could be no death, resurrection, or salvation. Christmas matters because it defends the virgin birth, which confirms Jesus as the only begotten Son of God, distinct from every other religious leader. If the virgin birth is denied, Christianity collapses into just another religion.

Using Scripture from Isaiah, Luke, and John, the sermon highlights Jesus as the Good Shepherd, the Anointed One (Messiah), and God’s help sent into the world. His supernatural conception, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection reveal that the unseen God became seen in human form.

The sermon challenges believers not to abandon Christmas because of materialism or cultural misuse. A fallen world will always distort good things, but that does not negate truth. Instead, Christians are called to stand up in every moment—holidays, workplaces, families, and culture—to proclaim Christ.

The message closes with a call to endurance and bold faith, urging believers to let God heal their wounds, stop focusing on imperfections, and consistently testify that Jesus is the Son of God, born of a virgin, crucified, resurrected, and still saving today. Christmas is not about traditions—it is about celebrating God’s greatest gift to humanity.

This sermon centers on endurance, faithfulness, and staying fully committed to God’s calling, using Caleb as the primary example of a believer who refused to quit despite time, opposition, and hardship.

The message opens by reminding believers that nothing is more important than salvation, and that true faith is proven by endurance over time. The mark of a genuine believer is not perfection, but perseverance—continuing in faith until the end.

Caleb stands as a model of unwavering faith. Though 85 years old, he still trusts God’s promise made 45 years earlier. He does not ask for comfort or ease but boldly requests the mountain still occupied by giants, declaring that God is able.

• Faith means believing God’s Word over what the eyes can see.

• Caleb’s strength came from obedience and trust, not age or circumstances.

Joshua and Caleb were willing to say what God can do, not what He can’t do. The sermon challenges believers to resist a faith that limits God and instead trust His power to heal, deliver, and save—just as He always has.

Faithfulness does not end with one person—it impacts generations. Caleb’s obedience brought blessing to his descendants. Likewise, believers today are setting the spiritual direction of future generations by staying committed to the journey.

As Israel settles into blessing, some tribes fail to fully drive out their enemies. This partial obedience leads to compromise, spiritual sluggishness, and influence from ungodly relationships.

• God does not remove what we choose to tolerate.

• Compromise gives the enemy access and influence.

God’s protection and provision are tied to obedience and staying where He places us. Leaving God’s will—even for seemingly wise reasons—brings loss, as illustrated through biblical examples like Naomi’s family and Abraham’s detour into Egypt.

The sermon closes with Psalm 84:5:

“Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage.”

Believers are called to be all in—committed to the journey regardless of hardship, offense, or opposition. Those who refuse to be denied by fear, difficulty, or distraction will inherit the promises of God.

Faithfulness over time brings inheritance, influence, and generational blessing. Set your heart on the journey and refuse to quit.

This sermon teaches the biblical balance between the love of God and the fear of God, showing that both are essential for a healthy, obedient Christian life. Using the story of “Philip,” the message illustrates how many believers unknowingly create a personal theology—embracing God’s love while neglecting proper fear—resulting in compromised obedience and ongoing struggle with sin.

Scripture reveals that love for God is proven through obedience, and obedience is strengthened by a proper fear of the Lord. The fear of God is not terror or avoidance, but a deep reverence, respect for His authority, and awareness of consequences. Proverbs and Psalms show that fearing God brings life, wisdom, protection from evil, confidence, and spiritual safety.

Jesus Himself taught that God alone is to be feared, because He holds ultimate authority over both soul and body. The sermon explains that fear and love are not opposites but work together—love motivates relationship, while fear establishes boundaries that protect believers from sin and spiritual harm.

The message warns that a lack of the fear of God in the modern church has led to moral looseness and self-made theology. True spiritual growth requires humility, willingness to change, and submission to God’s authority. God’s boundaries are an expression of His love, designed to keep His children safe.

The sermon concludes with a call to self-examination, repentance, and renewed obedience—urging believers to live within God’s loving boundaries, guided by both His love and a proper fear of the Almighty.

This message teaches that God disciplines His people redemptively, warns of the danger of persistent rebellion, and points powerfully to Christ as the true Shepherd and the ultimate hope for Israel and the nations

20251211 - Thursday Bible Study…

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The study opens with Zechariah 11, explaining that God disciplines those He loves. Discipline is not condemnation but a loving attempt to restore hearts that have wandered. When correction is ignored repeatedly, however, judgment eventually becomes unavoidable.

• God always provides warnings and opportunities to repent before judgment comes.

• Discipline is meant to bring humility and dependence on God.

Zechariah contrasts the Good Shepherd with selfish, corrupt shepherds who abuse and neglect the flock.

• Israel’s leaders exploited their own people and felt no guilt.

• When God’s people reject faithful leadership, they are left with leaders who reflect their rebellion.

This serves as a warning for both nations and individuals.

The passage prophetically points to Jesus:

• The 30 pieces of silver represent the price paid for betraying the Good Shepherd.

• The money being thrown to the potter points to Christ’s rejection and death, yet also reveals His mercy—He redeems even the broken and discarded.

• Jesus willingly laid down His life; no one took it from Him.

Personal testimony illustrates how God can use severe hardship to bring repentance and salvation.

• God does not cause sin, but He can redeem the consequences of it.

• No life is beyond restoration—God specializes in turning ashes into beauty.

Zechariah chapters 12–14 focus on Jerusalem, which remains the focal point of God’s prophetic purposes.

• Nations that oppose Jerusalem will ultimately face judgment.

• God promises final deliverance and restoration for Israel.

• The Messiah will return, stand on the Mount of Olives, and reign as King over all the earth.

Israel will one day look upon the One they pierced and mourn in repentance.

• God will pour out grace and supplication.

• A fountain of cleansing will be opened for sin and uncleanness.

• This mirrors the spiritual process of repentance and restoration seen in individual believers today.

Though judgment is severe, God preserves a refined remnant.

• Trials refine faith like fire refines gold.

• God declares, “They are My people,” and they respond, “The Lord is my God.”

The sermon concludes with the hope of Christ’s reign:

• Jesus will be King over all the earth.

• Jerusalem will dwell securely.

• Holiness will define everyday life.

• God’s glory will fill the world.

God disciplines to redeem, judges to restore, and reigns to bring ultimate peace. The Good Shepherd lays down His life so His people can live—and one day, He will reign openly as King.

This message teaches that God’s people are heirs of a greater inheritance, and that earthly possessions are temporary compared to what God gives through relationship with Him.

Joshua 13 describes Israel dividing the land after years of warfare. Some tribes receive territory, while the tribe of Levi receives no land. Instead, God Himself is their inheritance. This becomes the central spiritual lesson of the sermon.

The pastor emphasizes that no one truly owns land or possessions—everything belongs to God. Israel’s inheritance is a foreshadowing of a greater, eternal inheritance promised to believers.

Many believers, especially in prosperous cultures, are tempted to build their lives around comfort, security, and material success. The sermon warns against “building tents and pitching altars,” instead of pitching tents and building altars—investing more in eternity than in temporary things.

Connecting Joshua to Revelation, the pastor explains that believers today are like the Levites:

• We may not receive everything we want on earth

• But God Himself is our inheritance

• Through Christ, we are made kings and priests who will reign with Him

This shifts the focus from what we gain now to who we are becoming.

Battles, opposition, and hardship are part of the journey. Being in a fight does not mean failure—it means engagement. God uses suffering to prepare believers for eternal responsibility.

Through Christ’s sacrifice, believers are declared “more than conquerors.” Jesus fought the battle we could never win, and we now share in His victory, inheritance, and future reign.

• This world is not our home

• God is shaping eternal sons and daughters

• Our calling is endurance, faith, and obedience

• If God is for us, nothing can separate us from His love

God has not shortchanged His people—He has given us Himself. Our inheritance is eternal, and our victory is already secured in Christ.