ADVENT(ure) - Worship Fully

Sermon Notes from Sunday December 2, 2012
Message by Pastor Terry Crawford
Covenant Church, Shepherdstown, WV

Advent

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Advent (adventus) means arrival.


Mary and the Angel
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Luke 1:26-33 (NIV84)
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In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”


Mary Worshipped
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Luke 1:46-55 (NIV84)
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And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me–
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.”



Celebrate
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The story of advent is worth celebrating.



Who is Jesus?
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Isaiah 9:6-7 (NIV84)
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For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.



Worshiping fully
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You can’t spend less, give more or love all until you are authentically worshiping fully.



Shachah
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To bow down and give reverence to one of nobility or authority.



A common struggle
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A common struggle, even at Christmas, is we worship things other than God.



Peter
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Acts 10:25-26 (NIV84)
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As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”



John
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Revelation 19:9-10 (NIV84)
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Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”



Ephesians
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Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV84)
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For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Notes provided by Cliff Boyles

Names and Descriptions of God part 3

Banner to the people (Isaiah 11:10) - On that day the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His resting place will be glorious. (HCSB)



The Beginning of creation of God (Revelation 3:14) - "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.


The Beginning (Revelation 21:6) - And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.


My Beloved (Matthew 12:18) - "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.


The Branch of the LORD (Isaiah 4:2) - In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel.


A Branch (Isaiah 11:1) - There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.


A righteous Branch (Jeremiah 23:5) - "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.


The Branch (Zechariah 6:12) - And say to him, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.



Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers



HCSB Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), copyright © 2004 by Holman Bible Publishers, a division of Lifeway Christian Resources.

Names and Descriptions of God Part 2

The Amen (Revelation 3:14) - “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.



The Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:22) - until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.


Anointed (Psalm 2:2) - The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,

Anointed (Acts 4:27) - for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,


Apostle and High Priest of our confession (Hebrews 3:1) - Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,


Author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) - looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.


Author of eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:9) - And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,



Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers

Names of God Part 1

The next couple months as my small group studies the Experiencing God study, I will will post on the names of God found throughout the Bible. I will be doing these in alphabetical order in hope that it will be easier to search through them.

Abounding in goodness and truth (Exodus 34:6) - The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

Acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3) - He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Adam, the last (1 Corinthians 15:45) - Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1) - My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

All (Colossians 3:11) - Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Almighty (Job 5:17, Revelation 1:8) -  "Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

Alpha (Revelation 1:8, 21:6) - "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers

Crazy Dangerous Book Review

Crazy Dangerous

By Andrew Klaven

Published by Thomas Nelson

Book Description

"You probably want to hear about Jennifer and the demons and how I played chicken with a freight train and—oh yeah—the weird murder . . . you're definitely going to want to hear about that."

Sam Hopkins is a good kid who has fallen in with a bad crowd. Hanging around with car thieves and thugs, Sam knows it’s only a matter of time before he makes one bad decision too many and gets into real trouble.

But one day, Sam sees them harassing an eccentric schoolmate of his named Jennifer. When Sam finds the courage to face the bullies down, he loses a bad set of friends and acquires a very strange new one.

Because Jennifer is not just eccentric. To Sam, she seems downright crazy. She has terrifying hallucinations involving demons and the devil and death. And here’s the really crazy part: Sam is beginning to suspect that these visions may actually be prophecies—prophecies of something terrible that’s going to happen very soon. Unless he can stop it.

With no one to believe him, with no one to help him, Sam is now all alone in a race against time. Finding the truth before disaster strikes is going to be both crazy and very, very dangerous.

Book Review:

This was book is written in first person point of view, so you really get drawn into the story. I found myself not wanting to put the book down, reading it every chance I had.

Sam Hopkins is a teenage boy in a town that is probably very familiar with most of us. Sam is a preacher’s kid (PK), who is looked at differently by others in his school. They act as if they have to be somewhat fake around him, due to his father being a preacher. This leads Sam to want to change the way he is view, so Sam gets into league with local thief’s.

Sam’s journey takes him on a path too running from the thief’s, playing chicken with a train, getting beat up, learning to break into cars and locks of all kinds. After a encounter with a statue in his father’s office Sam realizes that he must stop hanging out with these guys, this choice changes the flow of the book.

Sam and Jennifer attend the same school, but Jennifer is a girl with a mind that causes a world of trouble for Sam. Jennifer has visions of demons and events of horrible ends. Sam saves Jennifer from being abused by the very thief’s he has been hanging with, which ends in Sam getting beaten really badly.

Sam though, believes the visions that Jennifer has, as she explains they in a cryptic way. When one vision comes true, Sam must find out what else she knows, when one evening Jennifer shows up in the lawn of his house. This event leads Sam to breaking into a mental hospital, kidnapping Jennifer, running from the police and ultimately saving the lives of hundreds of people.

This story is a whirl wind ride and through faith in God, people, and one’s self. Torn between reality and visions Sam and Jennifer race to stop the evil that people are capable of planning and attempting to care out.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone.

5 Things Your Daughter Wants from You

5 Things Your Daughter Wants from You

10 Ways to Know You Are a Successful Father | All Pro Dad

10 Ways to Know You Are a Successful Father | All Pro Dad

Steadfastness Through Trails

2 Count it all joy, my brothers,

when you meet trials of various kinds,

3 for you know that the testing

of your faith produces steadfastness.

4 And let steadfastness have its full effect,

that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

(James 1: 2-4, ESV)

Why I believe I am a Successful Man?

1) God – With God in my life I have success. He walks with me through all the ups and downs of my life. He has always been there with me and it is because of my God that I have all the blessings in my life.


2) Parents – My parent too, have been with me through ups and downs. Through victories and defeats in sports and schooling. I believe that I see God as a great heavenly father, because he provided me with a great earthly father. While I continue to learn to be a father myself and am leaning you my dad. I lack patience, but I see a considerable amount of this in my dad. So, I hope that I will eventually develop more patience.


3) Wife – God has given me an amazing wife. She supports most of my decisions and judgments while helping me through others. She is always there for me and provides me with unending love.


4) Daughter – God has given my wife and I a beautiful daughter that can light up a room with her smiles (already as a five month old, I will need a lot of restraint in 15 years.) Have a child has showed me how much I lack in patience, but because of the above three I will get better with this and come out all the better.


5) Family and Friends – My wife and I have a great circle of family and friends that would do almost anything for us and that we would do almost anything for. Through my friends I have been pushed to grow as a person, a husband, a father, and a follower of Jesus. For these friends I am extremely thankful.


No where do I consider money, job, titles, or social standing part of success. I have these things, but tomorrow I may not, but I will always have my family and friends. But, most importantly I have God who holds me up through all that life brings. I am extremely thankful for all my life has brought me and I look forward to a future full of faith, hope and love.

Number Our Days

9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;

we bring our years to an end like a sigh.

10 The years of our life are seventy,

or even by reason of strength eighty;

yet their spant is but toil and trouble;

they are soon gone, and we fly away.

11 Who considers the power of your anger,

and your wrath according to the fear of you?

12 So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

(Psalm 90:9-12, ESV)