Tim Wilbur

05/20/12

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Don Myers

05/13/12

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Don Myers

05/06/12

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Tim Wilbur

04/29/12

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Tim Wilbur

04/22/12

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Tim Wilbur

04/15/12

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Tim Wilbur

04/08/12

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Don Myers

04/01/12

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Don Myers

03/25/12

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Don Myers

03/18/12

 Sorry Sermon Unavailable

Tim Wilbur

03/11/12

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Tim Wilbur

03/04/12

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Mike Magnotti

02/26/12

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Tim Wilbur

02/19/12

 Sorry Sermon Unavailable  

Tim Wilbur

02/12/12

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Tim Wilbur

02/05/12

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 Sorry Not Available

01/29/12

Don Myers

01/22/12

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Don Myers

01/15/12

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Tim Wilbur

01/08/12

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Tim Wilbur

01/01/12

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Tim Wilbur

12/25/11

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Tim Wilbur

12/18/11

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Tim Wilbur

12/11/11

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Tim Wilbur

12/04/11

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Tim Wilbur

11/27/11

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Tim Wilbur

11/20/11

Don Myers

11/13/11

Don Myers & Guest Speaker Chris Millheisler 

11/06/11

Don Myers

10/30/11

Don Myers

10/23/11

Tim Wilbur

10/16/11

Tim Wilbur

10/09/11

Tim Wilbur

10/02/11

Tim Wilbur

09/25/11

Tim Wilbur

09/18/11

Don Myers

09/11/11

Tim Wilbur

09/04/11

Don Myers

08/28/11

Don Myers

08/21/11

Tim Wilbur

08/14/11

Tim Wilbur

08/07/11

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Tim Wilbur

07/31/11

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Tim Wilbur

07/24/11

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Tim Wilbur

07/17/11

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Tim Wilbur

07/10/11

Don Myers

07/03/11

Tim Wilbur

06/26/11

Tim Wilbur

06/19/11

Don Myers

06/12/11

Tim Wilbur

06/05/11

Tim Wilbur

05/29/11

Tim Wilbur & Don Myers

05/22/11

05/15/11

Tim Wilbur

05/08/11

Tim Wilbur

05/01/11

Tim Wilbur

04/24/11

Tim Wilbur

04/10/11

Don Myers

04/03/11

Don Myers

03/27/11

Don Myers

03/20/11

Mike Magnotti

03/13/11

Don Myers & Jordan Getzin

03/06/11

Don Myers

02/27/11

Don Myers

02/20/11

Don Myers

02/13/11

Tim Wilbur

02/06/11

Don Myers

01/30/11

Tim Wilbur

01/23/11

Don Myers

01/16/11

Don Myers

01/09/11

Tim Wilbur

01/02/11

Tim Wilbur

12/26/10

Tim Wilbur

12/19/10

Tim Wilbur

12/12/10

Tim Wilbur

12/5/10

Mike Magnotti

11/28/10

Tim Wilbur

11/21/10

 “If Christ’s death on the cross and our heartful repentence means oursins are already forgiven, why do we have to “stand in judgement before God”when we die?”

   There are twoways we will face judgement after we die. It is true that God will ask those who have followed Him about theirworks on earth, but this is more a form of discipline than judgement; our worksdo not determine our claim on eternity with God.  That judgement is determined completely byour relationship with Jesus.  When we diewe will all stand in God’s presence, condemned by our sin, but those who haveexperienced new life in Jesus will be redeemed by His sacrifice on ourbehalf.  “Just as man is destined to dieonce, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed one to takeaway the sins of many people…”  (Hebrews9:27-28a)

“Is forgiveness only for believers? What if a non-believer asks for forgiveness?”

  It’s important that we know that Jesus’ sacrifice and  payment for our sin-debt is absolutely for everyone.  God’s eternal purpose is that no one wouldperish (2 Peter 3:9) and that through the loving sacrifice of Jesus everyonewould have the chance for eternal life with God.  (John 3:16-17) The question is what we dowith that offer of life and forgiveness; we don’t earn it, but we do have toaccept it.  (John 1:12)  So if someone asks for forgiveness, it seemsthat they have made the first step toward believing in the One who offers it,and need to be encouraged in their growing faith toward becoming fully devotedfollowers!

“Why couldn’t God just let the debt go?” 

  Just like aparent who must stay true to rules given to raise up a child with disciplineand safety, even when they are hard, God must stay true to the system of “toughlove” He has established for us.  I Johnsays He is “faithful and just” (1:9) and backing down from the consequences ofsin would be neither just nor fair.  Butthe bigger reason that God doesn’t back down from the penalty of sin is hisnature of holiness.  A holy God cannotallow the darkness of sin into his eternity; sin must be paid for by sacrifice,and it’s debt erased.  The beauty of Godis that He is the whole package – holy, just AND loving.  His gift of Jesus on the cross demonstratesall three.

Tim Wilbur

11/14/10

 “If Christ’s death on the cross and our heartful repentence means oursins are already forgiven, why do we have to “stand in judgement before God”when we die?”

   There are twoways we will face judgement after we die. It is true that God will ask those who have followed Him about theirworks on earth, but this is more a form of discipline than judgement; our worksdo not determine our claim on eternity with God.  That judgement is determined completely byour relationship with Jesus.  When we diewe will all stand in God’s presence, condemned by our sin, but those who haveexperienced new life in Jesus will be redeemed by His sacrifice on ourbehalf.  “Just as man is destined to dieonce, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed one to takeaway the sins of many people…”  (Hebrews9:27-28a)

“Is forgiveness only for believers? What if a non-believer asks for forgiveness?”

  It’s important that we know that Jesus’ sacrifice and  payment for our sin-debt is absolutely for everyone.  God’s eternal purpose is that no one wouldperish (2 Peter 3:9) and that through the loving sacrifice of Jesus everyonewould have the chance for eternal life with God.  (John 3:16-17) The question is what we dowith that offer of life and forgiveness; we don’t earn it, but we do have toaccept it.  (John 1:12)  So if someone asks for forgiveness, it seemsthat they have made the first step toward believing in the One who offers it,and need to be encouraged in their growing faith toward becoming fully devotedfollowers!

“Why couldn’t God just let the debt go?” 

  Just like aparent who must stay true to rules given to raise up a child with disciplineand safety, even when they are hard, God must stay true to the system of “toughlove” He has established for us.  I Johnsays He is “faithful and just” (1:9) and backing down from the consequences ofsin would be neither just nor fair.  Butthe bigger reason that God doesn’t back down from the penalty of sin is hisnature of holiness.  A holy God cannotallow the darkness of sin into his eternity; sin must be paid for by sacrifice,and it’s debt erased.  The beauty of Godis that He is the whole package – holy, just AND loving.  His gift of Jesus on the cross demonstratesall three.

Don Myers

11/07/10

 “If Christ’s death on the cross and our heartful repentence means oursins are already forgiven, why do we have to “stand in judgement before God”when we die?”

   There are twoways we will face judgement after we die. It is true that God will ask those who have followed Him about theirworks on earth, but this is more a form of discipline than judgement; our worksdo not determine our claim on eternity with God.  That judgement is determined completely byour relationship with Jesus.  When we diewe will all stand in God’s presence, condemned by our sin, but those who haveexperienced new life in Jesus will be redeemed by His sacrifice on ourbehalf.  “Just as man is destined to dieonce, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed one to takeaway the sins of many people…”  (Hebrews9:27-28a)

“Is forgiveness only for believers? What if a non-believer asks for forgiveness?”

  It’s important that we know that Jesus’ sacrifice and  payment for our sin-debt is absolutely for everyone.  God’s eternal purpose is that no one wouldperish (2 Peter 3:9) and that through the loving sacrifice of Jesus everyonewould have the chance for eternal life with God.  (John 3:16-17) The question is what we dowith that offer of life and forgiveness; we don’t earn it, but we do have toaccept it.  (John 1:12)  So if someone asks for forgiveness, it seemsthat they have made the first step toward believing in the One who offers it,and need to be encouraged in their growing faith toward becoming fully devotedfollowers!

“Why couldn’t God just let the debt go?” 

  Just like aparent who must stay true to rules given to raise up a child with disciplineand safety, even when they are hard, God must stay true to the system of “toughlove” He has established for us.  I Johnsays He is “faithful and just” (1:9) and backing down from the consequences ofsin would be neither just nor fair.  Butthe bigger reason that God doesn’t back down from the penalty of sin is hisnature of holiness.  A holy God cannotallow the darkness of sin into his eternity; sin must be paid for by sacrifice,and it’s debt erased.  The beauty of Godis that He is the whole package – holy, just AND loving.  His gift of Jesus on the cross demonstratesall three.

Tim Wilbur

10/31/10

 " Can you give a quick sample definition of sin?"

Answer: In the Old Testament, the Hebrewword basically meant, "to miss the mark", as in shooting an arrow andmissing the bull's eye. In the New Testament, the concept is expressed inRomans 3:23, "All have sinned and fall short of God's glory". 
  

"Isn't there an unforgivable sin? What is it?"
Answer: The only one mentioned in Scripture is inMatthew 12:31, called "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit". Thecontext was the Pharisees accusing Jesus of doing His work by Satan'spower.
 
 "Whatabout people who commit suicide?"

Answer: The Bible never addresses the eternalconsequence of suicide. It's not the unforgiveable sin, therefore it seems tobe forgivable and treated with grace from God. See Romans 8:1
 
  "Anything not by faith is sin? i can'tquote the verse."
Answer: The reference is from Romans 14:23, whichrefers to eating meat offered to idols. This seems to be an isolated referenceto not going against a person’s conscience in this matter.

Don Myers

10/24/10

 “Jesus didn’t rebuke in this story. If we are to follow his example is there ever a time when it is ok to beharsh or rebuke others?” (referring to Luke 7:36-50)

  Jesus had anamazing skill at making His point, even when totally calling out lies or sin,with a soft word and a gentle hand.  SoI’m not sure there is ever a call for us to be harsh, and the word rebuke oftenconnotes such harshness.  If Jesus wasn’tharsh, in all his wisdom and power, who am I to be in my limited humanwisdom?  Too often a harsh word conveys judgmentand condemnation, emotions that don’t fit with being a follower of Jesus.  However, Paul clearly says that “speaking thetruth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) is a sign of maturity and growth in our faith.  We aren’t supposed to turn a blind eye to sinor unrighteousness in others.  But wemust recognize that we are in the same position as our brother and just asprone to sin, and so any correcting should be done with grace and mercy andempathy.

“If God loves everybody, does that mean we have to too?” 

  This makes me smile – thanks for your honesty! Your logic is spot on; if God loves someone,what possible justification could I have for not?  Am I smarter than God?  Yes, we should love everyone too!

          But Godcertainly knows how hard this is, and that our difficulties with people aroundus are part and parcel of our own selfishness. It’s a difficulty that we should be struggling with every day, prayingthat God would give us the strength to love the unlovable just as Jesusdid.  And I pray that Jesus wouldstrengthen those around me to love me when I’m the one hard to love!

          Loving othershas huge impacts – both on those loved and on those who see us love.  See John 13:34-35, John 14:21 & John15:9-14 for some good insight on this.

“Obviously God loves us all, but do you think he punishes us or atleast puts obstacles in our way for something we did that was wrong?”

In short –nope!  God’s love is so thorough, socomplete, so unconditional that everything He does serves to nurture us andhelp us become more mature. It is important to distinguish between Godpunishing us and disciplining us; when God disciplines it is to help us learnand grow up, and is an expression of His love. (Hebrews 12:7-11)  But God doesn’tever put up obstacles or tempt us (James 1:13) – His actions are always to helpus.

“I’ve struggled for years with how God can have love and compassion forpedophiles…?”

  (MikeMagnotti, former police officer and New Song elder, gave a wonderful answer tothis, which I’ll try and relate along with my comments)

   Often when westruggle to love someone as God does, especially when we see their sin as soheinous as this example, we are basically asking them to become more likeus.  We shudder at the magnitude of sinslike child abuse and murder, wondering how anyone could be so bad?  There’s a big problem here – God doesn’tgrade on a curve!  My job is not to judge(“how could they be so bad?”) but to recognize that God sees my sins just liketheirs.  (Romans 3:9-12)  This certainly does not mean we condone anykind of sin, or consider it “acceptable”, but we must recognize that every oneof us is in need of God’s grace and forgiveness, from the “worst” to the “leastworst”. 

Tim Wilbur

07/04/10

Jessica Jackley Interview - Kiva.org

06/27/10

Tim Wilbur

06/20/10

Tim Wilbur

06/13/10

Don Myers

06/06/10

Tim Wilbur

05/30/10

Tim Wilbur

05/23/10

Don Myers

05/16/10

Don Myers

05/09/10

Tim Wilbur

05/02/10

Tim Wilbur

04/25/10

Tim Wilbur

04/18/10

Tim Wilbur

04/11/10

Tim Wilbur

04/04/10

Tim Wilbur

03/28/10

Don Myers

03/14/10

Don Myers

03/07/10

Don Myers

02/28/10