Listen to pastor Matt Ford preach about how Revival comes to God's People (the church).

Listen to Christian Wall preach about how Solomon and us should pray for the Temple/Church from II Chronicles 6

1. Begin with who God is and His Character and Promises
2. Wonder at the Glory of God. Pray He heals and keeps reconciling us
3. Pray-"When we Wander, Bind our Heart to Thee"
4. Pray-Church would reach the world
5. We are the temple that Solomon prayed over

Listen to pastor Matt Ford preach about the love of God and how that will ultimately change the world around us. Nothing will change your life like knowing and receiving the love of God.

• You can’t give what you don’t have.
• Spiritual growth is really just God’s love, growing in you as you receive it and give it away.
• Love brings people to Jesus.
• Nothing will change the world like God’s people, giving God’s love.
• Becoming a church that really experiences God’s love is a family effort.

Listen to pastor Matt Ford preach about the love of God and how that will ultimately change the world around us. Nothing will change your life like knowing and receiving the love of God.

• God’s love isn’t just an idea or a feeling--he’s brought it into reality
• God’s love is guaranteed by him being who he is, not by you being what you ought to be
• God’s love isn’t for good-enough people, but for failures and the failing
• God’s love starts with him and nothing you screw up can make it end
• God’s love can and will change the course of your future forever
• God’s love has a face: Jesus Christ
• God’s love now has millions upon millions of faces: you, his children--his church

Listen to pastor Matt Ford preach about the love of God and how that will ultimately change the world around us.

Nothing will change your life like knowing and receiving the love of God.

• Orthodoxy: right belief
• Orthopraxy: right practice (right living, corresponding with right belief)

Know God’s love and receive God’s love.

The gospel is how God shows his love for us.

Listen to pastor Matt Ford preach about how violent people take the Kingdom of God by force.

Listen to Christian Wall preach about Advent and how that brings peace, hope, joy, and faith to the followers of Jesus-Immanuel (God with us)

1. God will never give up on us, His plan is not ruined by our mistakes. 2. The thing that will reconcile us to God is the Knowledge and Fear of the Lord.

3. If we want to be reconciled today, we must be made new and begin to walk like Jesus.

• Constantly submitting his will to God

• Learning and Meditating on God and his ways, and then

• Doing the will of God the Father 

Listen to Pastor Matt Ford preach about Advent and how that brings peace, hope, joy, and faith to the followers of Jesus-Immanuel (God with us)

The story of Jesus’ advent–Christmas–brings light to those in darkness and hope to the utterly hopeless.

Listen to Pastor Matt Ford preach about Advent and how that brings peace, hope, joy, and faith to the followers of Jesus-Immanuel (God with us)

The story of Jesus’ advent–Christmas–brings light to those in darkness and hope to the utterly hopeless.

1) Prophecy is given to God’s people so we can prepare.

2) The prophetic promise isn’t about a what’s going to happen, but the person we can trust to make it happen.

Listen to Pastor Matt Ford preach about the how Christians are designed to live their lives in accordance with the Bible and what the Bible speaks about different aspects of our lives.

God’s maximal design for his Church: 

• We are to see him, know him, love him, enjoy him, and trust him with our lives.

• We are to see, know, and joyfully embrace the identity he gives us.

• We are to say the words of Jesus to one another and the world.

• We are to do the works of Jesus for one another and the world.

• We do all of these as the good works which God predestined us to do.

• We do all of these things as ambassadors of Jesus and his guaranteed-to-come Kingdom.

Listen to Pastor Matt Ford preach about the how Christians are designed to live their lives in accordance with the Bible and what the Bible speaks about different aspects of our lives. What is the Church and why does it exist? 

God designed the church to dwell with His people

Every Christian is a member of God’s beloved, redeemed, eternal, global people.

• We bear his image as humans.

• We bear his grace and mercy as his redeemed.

• We bear his righteousness as his adopted children.

• We bear his Truth and Word as his witnesses.

• We bear his Good News as his ambassadors.

• We bear his cross and his sufferings as his servants.

• We bear his everlasting welcome and honor as his friends.

APPLICATION:

Pray: ask the Lord to redeem and renew your mind and heart toward his Church

• That we’d love the church like Christ loves his Bride

• That we’d belong to the Church because we are family

• That we’d serve the Church because we are members

• That we’d enjoy God’s presence because the church is His dwelling place

Listen to Pastor Matt Ford preach about the how Christians are designed to live their lives in accordance with the Bible and what the Bible speaks about different aspects of our lives. We rest because we bear the image of the One who rested.

1. Why we rest: we rest from our work
2. Why we rest: we rest for our work.
3. Rest is an act of faith
4. Rest is part of God’s designed life-rhythm
5. Rest is a sign pointing to Jesus
6. Rest is a weapon against Satan and sin
7. Why is it so hard to rest? 
8. We’re full of pride
9. We're full of fear
10. We’re full of confusion: “rest must be for the lazy.”
11. How do we view rest in through the eyes of redemption?

We rest because we bear the image of the One who is our rest.

Listen to Pastor Matt Ford preach about the how Christians are designed to live their lives in accordance with the Bible and what the Bible speaks about different aspects of our lives. We work because we bear the image of One who works.

1. We’re designed for work
2. Work is an act of worship.
3. Work is good for you.
4. Work is delegated to us in complimentary ways--it’s not just good for you, it’s good for us

1. Work stinks because of sin.
2. Work serves your life--your life doesn’t serve work.
3. Your value before God doesn’t depend on the work you do.
4. Your value before other people doesn’t depend on the work you do.
5. Sin transforms work from a gift into a god.

1. God’s reward no longer depends on your work, but on Christ’s work.
2. You now work for your Father, as part of his “family business."
3. Your reward is an inheritance from your Father, not a paycheck from a boss.

Listen to Pastor Matt Ford preach about the how the Church should pray and work for the Lord's mission of people coming to saving faith in Jesus.

Great Needs:

1. There is great need in our community--people with no faith in Jesus; lost sheep without the Good Shepherd

2. We need Christ-like compassion for these people

3. We need to expectantly believe that Jesus still saves and converts the lost

4. We need to commit to praying to the LorFived of the harvest, asking him to empower us, send us out, and let us reap his harvest

5. We need to do the good work of Jesus--that which he’s done for us--by doing good to one another.

Two invitations to our church:

1. Fast one meal a day for the next three to seven days, committing that time and focus to prayer

2. Commit to joining us at pre-service prayer for the next month

Listen to Pastor Matt Ford preach about the how Christians are designed to live their lives in accordance with the Bible and what the Bible speaks about different aspects of our lives. Mental and Emotional Health: God designed our minds, hearts, and bodies for unity.

1. God designed our personhood–we are: mind, heart, and body
2. God designed our minds, hearts, and bodies to be one–unified
3. The Fall of humanity into sin fractures the unity of mind, heart, and body
4. We need–and God gives–a renewed, sound mind
5. We need–and God gives–a renewed, right heart
6. The new mind and new heart we need is the one Jesus shares with us
7. Our fallen minds and hearts suffer because we’re both bad and broken
8. God’s grace and mercy offers hope to our fallen minds and hearts

Listen to Pastor Matt Ford preach about the how Christians are designed to live their lives in accordance with the Bible and what the Bible speaks about different aspects of our lives.

Parenting: God created the family to bear His image and bring us joy.

1. God designed the gospel to redeem our family experience
2. God’s design for parents and children is about image-bearing
3. Parents and children are for securing joy in Jesus
4. Parents and children are for disciple-making

Listen to Pastor Matt Ford preach about the how Christians are designed to live their lives in accordance with the Bible and what the Bible speaks about different aspects of our lives.

Marriage: Two equal, complimentary image-bearers, united together in one life, serving one another for one life.

God designed the gospel to redeem, rescue, revive, and restore marriages.

Listen to Pastor Matt Ford preach about the how Christians are designed to live their lives in accordance with the Bible and what the Bible speaks about different aspects of our lives.

1. The truth of the Designer and his design is found in the world.

2. The truth of the Designer and his design is found in his Word.

3. The confusion we find in reality is only overcome by the truth we get from God.

   
   

   This Bible is about God and for us, revealing who God is and His design for us.

Listen to Pastor Matt Ford preach about the how the Church should drive for growth of the church. Christ died to make us holy--so we must be holy

We are to be like Jesus:

• To be deeply moved by what moves Jesus

• To be reminded of God’s promises to reveal his glory to those who believe

• To pray and ask God to do what we can’t do–make dead people live

• To get involved in what is difficult

• To call out to the dead in this world of graves–call out to Lazarus.

Listen to Pastor Matt Ford preach about the how the Church should drive for growth In the church. Christ died to make us holy--so we must be holy

1) Strive to see, know, and love Jesus in his Bible.

2) Strive to love and obey Jesus in his Bible--together.