Mulberry Street UMC/Macon Outreach Sermon Notes...Lessons From Nature

Scriptural Text...New Living Translation Psalm 1:2-3 "But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do."

Introduction: Our God is incredibly amazing! There's absolutely no God like our God! Creation's forensics boasts his finger prints and his signature 'Made by God' is seen throughout nature.

Transition: The Psalms are personally poetic, powerfully portrayed and passionately penned. Psalm 1 is a lesson in discipleship, taught by nature, on how to maximize our meager existences.

Exposition: Since nature declares the handiwork of God (according to Psalm 19), let's listen to what it has to teach us...

1. Posture (planted)
If the tree was potted, it's development would be limited. Being planted allows for limitless possibilities to progress. The word of God is what makes the tree so stable.

2. Position (riverbank)
There is no excuse for the tree to be dry/malnourished. It should soak up the word for it's growth.
*story of little atheist boy

3. Production (fruit)
The responsibility of the tree isn't to merely pig out on the word, but to use it to give back. We grow to give!

4. Prosperity (never wither)
The word of God is a preservative. In Deuteronomy 29:5, God kept clothes and shoes from deteriorating while they wandered in the wilderness. Your prosperity is found in God alone!
*story of little boy in the general store

Step It Up!!!

Without a doubt, our God is incredibly amazing, wonderful and great. Since we know that to be the truth, and we are aware the we were created in that same God's image, a legitimate question is, why are we (God's own children) so comfortable with mediocrity?

For the next four Sundays in the month of October, we will be challenged by the scriptures to Step It Up! It's important that the church of Jesus Christ returns to dedicated discipleship, by focusing our hearts on loving God and our hands to do the work of God. Nothing just happens! Anyone that is successful, spent quality time and made significant investments in their desired results. Let's make up our minds to passionately follow Jesus, and grow into who God wants us to be.

We'll see you this Sunday in Café Grace at 10:45 a.m. as we get ready to Step It Up!!!

Wesleyan College Sermon Notes...Molded By Moments

Scriptural Text...New Living Translation
Genesis 11:27-32 ²⁷ This is the account of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. ²⁸ But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living. ²⁹ Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.) ³⁰ But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children. ³¹ One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. ³² Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.

Genesis 12:1-9 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. ² I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. ³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” ⁴ So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. ⁵ He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, ⁶ Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.
⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord. ⁹ Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.

Introduction: Our life experiences are responsible for shaping our attitudes and actions. Positive experiences shape our optimism and our will to be victorious. Negative experiences shape our faith and our decision to allow life to destroy us or develop us.

Transition: The story of our text is interesting, because everyone is relatively familiar with the end story of Abram, but not with the moments that molded him to be Abraham. Coincidently, most people know your glory but not your story!

Exposition: There are at least four movements of this passage, that allows us to know what moments matter the most in our lives...

1) Connections
Abram's father Terah, was ambitious but without steady focus. His name means wanderer; loiterer.

2) Challenges
After Terah's death, God approaches 75 year old Abram and tells him that he can be lifted if he leaves.

3) Covenants
Beware of relationships where you're chief of the sacrifices. God offers Abram a deal that he couldn't refuse.

4) Consecration
Our response to God's investment in us, should be total devoted diligence.

Sermon Notes...Penitentiary Philosophy

Scriptural Text...Genesis 25:27-34 (New Living Translation) As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. ²⁸ Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. ²⁹ One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. ³⁰ Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”) ³¹ “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.” ³² “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” ³³ But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.

Introduction: Prison is less of a place, and more of a mentality, a philosophy, a way of life. It has it's own language (void of help and hope) and it's own look (slave to struggling).

Transition: Esau and Jacob are twin brothers, who both in their own way possess a penitentiary philosophy. Esau works hard and doesn't pay attention to details. Jacob is a strategic thinker, who is always looking for an easy come-up.

Exposition: Let's pick your brain, and see if we can liberate your thinking...

1) You have a penitentiary philosophy when you're moment minded
-Age doesn't guarantee that you'll think critically.
-Esau wants to fill a legitimate void, but refuses to wait for a quality solution and makes a debilitating decision.

2) You're dealing with someone who has a penitentiary philosophy when they manipulate moments
-Jacob's character is trickery, but you wouldn't think of him conning his own brother. That was a dysfunctional decision.
-Immaturity will cause you to trample over people, to get what you want at their expense.

Conclusion: How do you get free from the penitentiary? Forgive!!! In Genesis 33, Esau and Jacob meet. Both were doing well apart from each other, but Jacob was blessed while burdened with guilt. Once forgiveness flowed, Jacob was free to build (verses 17/house and 20/altar).

*** Song credit to Erykah Badu: Listen to Erykah Badu sing Penitentiary Philosophy here ***

Sermon Notes...Molded By Moments

Scriptural Text...New Living Translation
Genesis 11:27-32 ²⁷ This is the account of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. ²⁸ But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living. ²⁹ Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.) ³⁰ But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children. ³¹ One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. ³² Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.

Genesis 12:1-9 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. ² I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. ³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” ⁴ So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. ⁵ He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, ⁶ Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.
⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord. ⁹ Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev.
Introduction: Our life experiences are responsible for shaping our attitudes and actions. Positive experiences shape our optimism and our will to be victorious. Negative experiences shape our faith and our decision to allow life to destroy us or develop us.

Transition: The story of our text is interesting, because everyone is relatively familiar with the end story of Abram, but not with the moments that molded him to be Abraham. Coincidently, most people know your glory but not your story!

Exposition: There are at least four movements of this passage, that allows us to know what moments matter the most in our lives...

1) Connections
Abram's father Terah, was ambitious but without steady focus. His name means wanderer; loiterer.

2) Challenges
After Terah's death, God approaches 75 year old Abram and tells him that he can be lifted if he leaves.

3) Covenants
Beware of relationships where you're chief of the sacrifices. God offers Abram a deal that he couldn't refuse.

4) Consecration
Our response to God's investment in us, should be total devoted diligence.

Sermon Notes...I Pledge Allegiance

Subject: I Pledge Allegiance...The Tug of War Between God and Country (A conversation spurred by the stance of Colin Kaepernick)

Introduction: There's an uncomfortable tension in the air, emotions are high and the stage for volatile eruptions is set. The hot but touchy topics of politics, the police, the economy, healthcare and race is the blame. Colin Kaepernick is lucky number seven for the San Francisco 49ers, but has become a household name because of his refusal to stand at games for the national anthem...

Overwhelming Observations: things about this story that leap out, that's noteworthy...

1) Right- America boasts of being the "home of the free" with a constitution whose First Amendment empowers him to sit when he pleases. This is simply a peaceful protest.

2) Reason- Civil rights has long been a historically tense issue. It's not a color problem but a human one. Inequality still exists and none are free until we all are! It's a  noble cause.

3) Responsibility- Influence and wealth should be used for good. At age 28, he's arrested the attention of the nation (positive and negative), for a cause that's greater than himself.

Transition: Humanity doesn't know how to balance well, because we're typically extremists. God is tugging on our heartstrings for our allegiance, but we continue to give it away to a world/system that continually let's us down. How doe's the scriptures bring this controversy to a calm?...

Exposition: Scriptural insight on why we should pledge our allegiance to God over country...

1) God is stronger...First Kings 18:1-40
In the face of fake politicians (Ahab and Jezebel), false prophets (450 of Baal; 400 of Asherah) and fickle people, God proved to be the true and living God!

2) God is smarter...Second Chronicles 1:7-12
Solomon requests wisdom from God. God grants his request by making Solomon the wisest man to ever walk the earth. How wise is the God that made Solomon wise (Isaiah 55:8-9).

3) God is deserving...Exodus 20:2
Prior to revealing the commandments of the covenant, God reminds Israel of why their allegiance is due to God alone, because it was God who delivered them!

Conclusion: God is tugging for your attention (prayer), allegiance (posture) and action (practice). Good Christians make good citizens!