Posts

Unacceptable Love Part 1

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Jesus calls His people to love one another with a supernatural love, so much so as to joyfully participate in one another’s pursuit of holiness.

Scripture: John 1:1-17

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God’s Love

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Christians ought to love one another because God is love. God’s love is eternal; He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Scripture: 1 John 4:7-11

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Be Devoted to the Church

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The early followers of Jesus devoted themselves to the Apostle’s teachings, the fellowship and breaking of bread, and to the prayers. Acts 2:42. They devoted themselves to hearing from God through the scriptures, speaking with God in prayer, and belonging to the church. These habits of grace positioned their hearts to keep receiving what God was continuously giving – grace to be more and more like Jesus.

It makes no sense to try and live life as a Christian on your own because God’s grace has made us part of a family for a reason – without community there is no maturity. The Church is a means of grace for you and me. Apart from being devoted to the Church, you will not have the grace to grow up. Instead you’ll suffer from chronic inconsistency, along with everyone who knows you, and you’ll drift from one “truth” to another, subject to the deceitful scheming of the evil one. The Church is a grace in our lives when we have others who will “truth” us in word and deed, and for whom we can “truth” as well.

Scripture: Acts 2:42; Ephesians 4:1-16

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Encouragement For The Task at Hand!

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In this letter to his good friend Timothy, the Apostle Paul wants to instruct him, as well as the believers in the city of Ephesus how they are to live their lives in an honorable way as the church of the living God.

Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:1-2; Acts 20:17-38

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What Did Jesus Just Say?!? (Part 2)

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Jesus says the people who are eager to judge/condemn others should take a long look in the mirror and evaluate themselves before they consider going to someone else. No one gives mercy better than the individual who is convinced that they need grace/mercy.

Jesus isn’t saying put your head in the sand regarding people’s action but you/I need to become convinced of our own sin and our need for mercy/grace… when we do that we’ll be a great candidate to speak into someone else’s life.

Scripture: Matthew 7:1-12

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What Do We Value at Foothills?

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Seth Godin says that “all the promises & explanations in the world pale in comparison with what you do…words keep getting cheaper, which makes action more valuable than ever.” The actions I’m referring to this morning come from our values. Our values are intended to permeate everything we do as a church. Our values here at Foothills are:

  1. The Authority of Scripture
  2. Simplicity
  3. Better Together
  4. Lost People

Listen to the following sermon as Pastor Nate explains what this means.

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I’m Thankful For You!

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What brings people to a church? For almost every person it’s a place, program, personality or a pastor. What keeps a person at a church? Relationships—every time.

Paul’s words highlight:

  1. the relationship he had with the Philippians and
  2. the joy they brought him.

Scripture: Philippians 1:3-8; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

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Life In Community

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Communities centered on the gospel are God’s plan A to help people discover identity and worth. These types of communities bring hope to a lonely and isolated society. I am not arguing that the local church is the hope of the world as many would. Jesus is the hope of the world and in His sovereign plan; God has always had a people who represent Him and the good news He brings to a wandering world. Isolation and loneliness are contested through the promise Jesus brings in salvation and through the sanctification that is pursued in and through authentic community. Gospel communities help foster relationship with Jesus and are therefore vital to continual growth and maturity into the new worth, identity and mission that comes through Jesus alone. Gospel communities alone do not bring about identity and worth but they display the one who does.

Scripture: Romans 12:9

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Roles and Relationships in the Church

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The way we relate to each other in the church, Pastors and members, younger or older, hinges on our relationship with Jesus. So, whatever role God’s given you in the church, live it out with the humility of Jesus.

For Pastors- you go first. “You must be what you want to see” in the church.

For members – if your younger, rather than making assumptions or assertions about the leaders, be teachable, and for all, put on the humility of Jesus.

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1-5

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Report Card: Operation Christmas Child BOXES

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The smile of a child, especially during Christmas, is something that will warm your heart. You will be surprised how many children will go through Christmas never receiving a gift or hearing the story of the greatest gift of all, Jesus. Unfortunately, this is the reality of many children in this world. This is where Operation Christmas Child comes in.

By filling a shoebox with some fun and practical items, you’ll get to share the joy of Christmas and the Gospel with a child somewhere in the world. This year, Foothills collected 375 boxes! How amazing is that? Not only that, Foothills volunteers logged 107 hours of service to make the boxes project possible!

You would think that it stops there, but our collection was added to boxes from other churches in Ahwatukee, the South Valley and South Mountain areas of Phoenix for a total of 24,764 shoeboxes. That is a whole lot of shoeboxes for a lot of smiling kids.

The boxes are on their way to the California Processing Center and will be shipped to Peru, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Mongolia and to Native Americans.

Once again, this could not have been possible without every one of you coming together and making this happen. It is your generosity that will bring a smile to a less fortunate child and will allow them to learn about the Gospel.