Speaker: Pastor Andy Searles Sermon Series: Reboot Scripture Focus: Nehemiah 2:11-20 Sermon notes are as follows: Do Your Homework (11-15) • Tiredness robs perspective, multiplies anxiety, makes new opportunities intolerably burdensome, and destroys our peace. If we don’t choose to rest, we will never be at our best. • Leaders must live in reality, face facts honestly, and accept bad news as well as good. Build the Team (16-18) • Using the term ‘we’ and ‘us’ rather than ‘you’ and ‘them,’ Nehemiah unites a team where all can take ownership in the project. • Nehemiah teaches us that leadership is “getting people to do what they ought to do because they want to do it.” Overcome the Objections (19-20) • Ridicule is “the weapon of those who have no other.” When you are ridiculed, though, realize that you are in the company of anyone who has done anything significant! • We must treasure no ambition but the glory of God.

Church Together

Reboot: Getting Going!

Speaker: Pastor Andy Searles Scripture Focus: Nehemiah 2:1-10 Sermon notes are as follows:  Patience to Define Opportunity (1-4)    • We must know how to weep and pray, but we must also learn how to wait and pray    • Waiting time is rarely wasted time    • World leaders are only God’s servants whether they realize it or not Power in Designing Solutions (5-8)    • Because faith is a daring confidence in God’s grace, the Gospel answers all fears    • Months of prayer prepared Nehemiah life’s with crucial minutes Planning to Align Resources (9-11)    • Nehemiah believed in dependent prayer and deliberate planning!    • Favor doesn’t come from people; it comes FROM God and THROUGH people.

Reboot: Getting Ready!

Speaker: Pastor Andy Searles Scripture Focus: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 Sermon notes are as follows: What time is it? (1-9) • Every season in our life – even the tough ones –  are chapters in the adventurous story of our lives that reveals a  brilliant and loving author. • Understanding the season of life we are in, and its purpose, is one  of the greatest tasks of self-awareness we can reflect upon. What’s the purpose in it? (9-10) • Finding meaning in our lives comes from God, not us. • To find meaning in our struggles and successes is the way to make  life meaningful. If we fail to see the purpose in our struggles or  successes, life quickly becomes pointless. The point of struggle and  success is to find and glorify God. Where’s the beauty in it? (11-15) • Amid time, he has created a longing for eternity.

Forever Young: Finding Time for Eternity

Speaker: Omar Bohler Scripture Focus: Matthew 23:11, Galatians 5:13-14

Serving With Posture

Speaker: Bryan Ruby Scripture Focus: Luke 15:11-32 Sermon notes are as follows: Give your children roots, and then give them wings. Welcome your children back with open arms. Love and appreciate the ones who have been with you the entire time.

Forever Young: Different Kids, Same Parent

Speaker: Pastor Andy Searles Series: Forever Young Scripture Focus & Sermon Notes Matthew 18:1-6 (HCSB) At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then He called a child to Him and had him stand  among them. “I assure you,” He said, “unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the  greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one child like this in My name welcomes Me. “But whoever causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea! Spiritual Benjamin Buttons Stay Young by Turning & Becoming (1-3) • Competition causes people to start counting accomplishments, comparing achievements & condemning others.   • The entry way to heaven is way too small for ego to get through. Stay Young by Pursuing Humility (4-5) • Humility means avoiding two extremes – thinking  less of yourself than you should and thinking more of yourself than you  should.   • The call of the world is to be a celebrity. The call of Jesus is to be a servant. Stay Young by Protecting Innocence (6) • The sin of sins is to teach another to sin.

Forever Young: Spiritual Benjamin Buttons

Speaker: Pastor Andy Searles Scripture Focus: James 5:13-20 Sermon notes are as follows: Lift Up Your Voices (13-15) • The promise of God is not that He will take us out of difficulty, but that he will take us through difficulties. • Suffering is often the gym for our spiritual growth. • Being mature in faith doesn’t necessarily mean that we know what God is going to do, but that we know that God is going to do what He’s going to do! • It is not fervency or frequency of prayer that renders it effective – it’s the faith in and behind it! Open Up Vulnerably (16-18) • Confession is a vital practice of a vulnerable life. • The God who acted then also acts now! Help Up The Wanderer (19-20) • Our knowledge of a wanderer comes with a responsibility to help the wanderer return. • We must combine the right belief with the right practice.

Nuts & Bolts: Practical Praying

Pastor Andy continues our "Nuts & Bolts" series with a scripture focus from James 4:1-12. Sermon notes are as follows: Adjust & Align Expectations (1-3)  •   Don’t use prayer for selfish pleasures, but instead for Godly purposes. Don’t Dance With the Devil (4-5)  •   The desire for pleasures of the world always threaten our spiritual lives.  •   It gets hard to dedicate yourself to God when you continually dedicate yourself to material things. Receive Grace With Humility (6-10)  •   When the heart is humble, there is more room for the things of God.  •   Nearness brings likeness. The nearer we are to God, the more like him we become. Improve Your Attitude (11-12)  •   Time we spend judging people is time we waste when we could be loving people.

Nuts & Bolts: Peace

Pastor Andy continues our "Nuts & Bolts" sermon series with a scripture focus from James 3:1-12. Sermon notes are as follows: A slender portion of flesh contains the whole word of iniquity. – Calvin  Words Shape People (1-3)    • Your words shape people – they can build or destroy, they can point in the right way or the wrong way, they can bless or curse.    • Abstention from anything is never a complete substitute for control of something. We must, as God, tame our tongue. Words Ignite Situations (4-6)    • Are you going to use your words to ignite good things that build, or bad things that destroy?    • Speak less that you know and have more than you show. - Shakespeare Words Reveal Inconsistency (7-11)    • We should not use any word that reduces anyone to anything less than full stature as God’s created beings.    • When it comes to words, what comes out reflects what’s inside of you.

Nuts & Bolts: Weighing Your Words

Pastor Andy continues our "Nuts & Bolts" series with a scripture focus from James 2:1-13. Sermon notes are as follows: Immature people talk about their beliefs. Mature people live out their faith. Lift Up All Faces (1-4)  •   How we behave towards people indicates what we believe about God. Affirm Your New Identity (5-6) •   The beauty of the Gospel is that God values what the world regards as valueless. •   When we decide to follow Jesus was a re-invoking of His name over our identity. Distribute Love & Mercy (7-13) •   We only believe as much of Bible as we practice. •   To slander the poor is to slander God. •   People can tangibly see God’s mercy when they see us living mercifully.

Nuts & Bolts: Not Playing Favorites

Pastor Andy continues our "Nuts & Bolts" series with a scripture focus from James 1:2-18. Sermon notes are as follows: Rise With Wisdom (5-8)    • When we need wisdom, we get to go to the source of it! Climb by Humility (9-11) Escalate with Endurance (12-15)    • Don’t let testing on the outside become a temptation on the inside.  Cling Tightly to Grace (16-18)    • There are no shadows within the Father of Light.

Nuts & Bolts: When You're Hanging On by a Thread

Pastor Andy kicks off a new sermon series entitled, "Nuts & Bolts", which focuses on living out a transcendent faith in extremely practical ways. Sermon notes are as follows: An Example to Set (19-21)    • The best way to listen with humility is not to hear yourself in the conversation.    • Be quick to listen and slow to speak – do not get the verbs confused!    • Integrity says that we can’t accomplish the right thing in the wrong way. A Task to Grasp (22-25)    • Obedience is the mother of the true knowledge of "God”. – Calvin    • Hold the "man in the mirror" to God’s standards.    • What is found in the holy place must be lived in the market place. A People to Reach (26-27)    • People are the task.    • Obedience in action is a litmus test to faith.    • The combination of a purity of heart with a purity of action determines how we influence the world.

Nuts & Bolts: Faith

Speaker: Darryl Coppenhaver Scripture Focus: Acts 6:1-7 Sermon Notes Acts 6:1-2 Even at a time of church growth, there will be some nuts or bolts that we just do not see. We need the eyes of someone on the outside or a margin of the group to show us what we do not see because we are focused 100% on what is working already! Acts 6:3-6 When we are shown the loose nuts and bolts in the church or our personal mission for the Kingdom of God, we must act on what God has revealed and act! Remember that not all actions require dropping what we are focused on currently. Most likely, it is adding what we never focused or lost focus on! Acts 6:7 Results! When we have all the parts working together as God has planned for the Church, no one is left behind. People that once were only a detractor of the church see the true Kingdom of God in action, and finally see and know that all are welcomed, including them! “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” - C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses

The Nuts & Bolts of a Comeback: The Church

Speaker: Pastor Andy Searles Scripture Focus: John 21:1-23 Sermon notes are as follows: A Past Recollected (1-6) • To get back on track means to recollect the last time when you were on track, before you got off track, and start from there • It’s better to fail at the right thing than succeed at the wrong thing. A Relationship Reconnected (7-14) • Jesus often invites us to come – to come and see, come and drink, come and dine – because it’s when people come together that relationships are reconnected. • Often, we need to care for the physical before we can tend to the spiritual. A Responsibility Reinstated (15-19) • “Do you love me more than (insert your blank)” is the foundation of what it means to follow Jesus.

Capturing Comebacks: Back on Track

Join us for Easter worship as we continue our "Capturing Comebacks" series with a scripture focus from John 20:1-23. Sermon notes are as follows: Turn around to see belief (1-10) As the first disciples arrive at the tomb, John uses three different words to describe how the disciples "see" what is happening – John "glances,"  Peter "observes." Then they "perceive with intelligent comprehension."  Christian maturity means moving from glancing at God to comprehending  His presence with us. Turn your glance to a gaze! The evidence of the resurrection invites us to turn from doubt and to turn towards belief! Turn around to embrace hope (11-18) The disciples' behavior had caused them to lose hope. Mary's despair caused her to lose hers. Jesus' resurrection reveals that neither our despair  nor our behavior need to be reasons to lose hope. Turn around to discover purpose (19-23) Sometimes we think that locking the door to the world will bring peace, but it's when we open our heart to Christ that real peace is found. Jesus shows up beyond our locked doors to unlock our hearts.

Capturing Comebacks: The Turnaround

The essence of any relationship is togetherness. It is the same with God. The incredible news of the Gospel proclaims that God is together with us! Let's listen to messages from "Church Together".

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