Powell Butte Christian Church

THE COURAGEOUS CHURCH Week 2 - INTEGRITY

This morning we begin a brand-new series called The Courageous Church, and in this series we will look at the mission statement of PBCC: Connect, Grow, Serve, and Go. Now, this was just going to be a sermon series on the book of Daniel, but God has refocused my thoughts, and we will be studying several characters from scripture who demonstrate the kind of courage God has called His church into.But as we begin, Daniel will be a great study, because, with an increased intolerance in our culture for the sacred, I think Daniel and his three friends give us a great model of what it means to be a COURAGEOUS CHURCH.You see, Daniel’s situation parallels our own. For most of his life, Daniel was in the minority in a pagan culture. From the time he was a teenager until his death at 90, Daniel lived out faith in God under a series of pagan kings. He never had the luxury of living in a country surrounded by people who had faith in Yehovah, the One True God. There was continual pressure to conform to the pattern of the pagan world - threats, persecution, temptations to compromise. And yet Daniel is able to stand against all of that - and God BLESSES him and provides and protects him.

THE COURAGEOUS CHURCH Week 1: BODIES IN BABYLON, HEARTS IN HEAVEN

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.And with these words the American colonists declared their intention to throw off the yoke of British oppression, launching the movement that would eventually establish the greatest nation on the face of the earth. It was all about FREEDOM.It was in August 1776 when a committee composed of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John  Adams proposed a design for a national seal. Each gave their own ideas, with Franklin and Jefferson proposing the image of Moses and the Israelites being rescued from the hand of Pharaoh and his armies. That design idea made its way to the final proposal, with the words: “Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God.” Unfortunately, the red tape of government was conceived at the birth of the nation, and the idea of Moses and Pharaoh on the seal of the US was tabled - never to be considered again.BUT the idea of the story of the Biblical exodus validated and rallied groups that are confronted by an enemy greater than themselves. For the American colonists, success against the mighty British Empire would not be achieved without God’s help.You see, at the end of the book of Genesis God’s people had made their way out of Canaan to live in Egypt. There God fulfilled His promise to Abraham to bless them and to increase them in number. But the promise that they would be afflicted also came true. A pharaoh who had not been educated as to the importance of the Hebrews living in the land grew afraid of their numbers and decided it would be best to enslave them.The Hebrew people fell under oppression and slavery in the land in which they had once enjoyed freedom. They were forced to make mud bricks - filthy, miserable work - to supply their oppressors with the resources to build an empire.At the end of it all, God led His people out of slavery, to the mountain where the law was given, through a wilderness experience where they learned to obey, and finally to the land He had promised the patriarchs He would give to His people one day.The story of the exodus out of slavery into a promised land is the same story as those who have turned their lives over to the Lord Jesus.As Americans, slavery isn’t a part of our present reality, so if you were asked what enslaves you, you’d think that was an odd question. You might even get a bit defensive. This is America - land of the free, home of the brave!That would be pretty much the response that Jesus received from the Jews in John 8. 

LET FREEDOM RING John 8:31-36; Exodus 1

I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.We are in graduation season, and that poem that I just read has been incorporated into many a graduation ceremony throughout the decades. Written by the American poet, Robert Frost, the poem is perfect for graduation because graduation represents not just an end - a finishing up of formal education - but also a beginning - and a choice. What are you going to DO with your life? The poem is perfect because there are at LEAST two choices of roads offered to the graduate. And the decision really is life-changing because it typically determines what the rest of one’s life looks like.Today we are graduating ourselves. After almost a year of studying the Sermon on the Mount, we are finally coming to the conclusion… BUT, like a school graduation, it’s not ONLY an end --- it actually launches us into the beginning of the rest of our lives as disciples now living in God’s Upside Down Kingdom. And it’s appropriate to see that, as Jesus concludes the greatest sermon every preached, we are given some very clear choices. After hearing Jesus’ remarks, after considering his teaching, in each and every person’s life who hears his words there are now two paths diverging in a yellow wood, so to speak.  And the one we choose will make all the difference for us as well.

UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM Week 28: TWO ROADS DIVERGED...

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks , the door will be opened."  Matthew 7:7-8What if this verse read, “If you don’t ask you will get only what you can get on your own, if you don’t seek God you will never really find him and if you don’t knock the important doors will ever be opened to you.” Because that’s what is actually being implied here.I could ask you, “where do you live?” That will give me some information. But it will not bring me to your house. I will not know how you live. I will not know what your neighborhood looks like. If I don’t ask you anything, I’m really saying, “I’m not interested in knowing anything about you.”Isn’t it the same with God?Jesus is giving us some incredible teaching here on the kind of relationship God has called each of us to have with him - a relationship that is solid enough to give us the boldness to ASK, to SEEK, and to KNOCK. This morning I want to break those three things down and see what we can learn about what God is seeking and asking for, the thing He keeps knocking on our own doors for…

UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM Week 27: DARE THE PRAYER

No one likes to be judged—for their appearance, their taste in clothes, their hair, their tattoos...No one likes to be judged for making a mistake in the game, or for their driving.  Problem is, many people have taken the statement from Matthew, “Do not judge,” and latched on to that even when their behavior is stupid, destructive, or contrary to God’s law. They say, “Don’t judge me,” or “You have no right to tell me what is wrong.”But what if you’ve got a piece of lettuce sticking out from your front teeth? What if the way you are driving is putting yourself and other people in danger? What if the path you’re headed is going to wind you in debt, in divorce court, or even in prison?!?The premise this morning is that there IS a difference in ways you can use judgment and discernment in relationships. When Jesus says in Matthew 7 “Do not judge,” we must get to the HEART of what he is speaking of. If you are in a situation where you see someone you care deeply about acting out in a dangerous way, or you observe an injustice being committed against an innocent person -- is Jesus REALLY telling us to not CARE about those situations, not reach out and try to make things right?Didn’t Jesus judge the money-changers in the temple? Didn’t he instruct his disciples as they were going from town to town preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God to shake the dust off their feet if they encounter people hostile to the message? Doesn’t that take judgment??And yet too many folks misunderstand this passage of Jesus’ teaching.The Bible is full of passages that speak of righteous judgment and discernment when it comes to our relationships. Write these references down and check them out this week: Romans 16:17, 1 Corinthians 5:11, Ephesians 5:11, 2 Thessalonians 3:6All these passages speak about making judgments about the actions and attitudes of others, and making a sound decision BASED ON THOSE JUDGMENTS!!So IF those kinds of judgment are necessary and good, what did Jesus mean, then, when he said, “Do not judge”?

UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM Week 26: JUDGY McJUDGERPANTS

There’s a different slant I want to bring today. We’ve talked about how everything is the Lord’s; He is the owner of it all, and we get to serve as His managers. Then we talked about being ungrateful and discontent with what He has given us so much so that we put ourselves in a prison-type of reality where we cannot give as freely, we cannot be as generous as we would like. We are strapped because we paid no attention to the Biblical principles of managing money. Then last week, we spoke about reordering our priorities in God’s Upside Down Kingdom, flipping the list, if you will. But today I am going to talk about all of your extra money...to which you might be saying, “Pastor Trey – I THINK you have the wrong audience!” ?So – before we launch into the sermon, I’m going to present a case to you that you really DO have extra. This isn’t about making anyone feel guilty. It’s about AWARENESS (like last week!). AND my case will include the fact that what you DO with your extra money is an indication of something you believe – which you may not know you believe, but Jesus in fact talks about there in the Sermon on the Mount.Now the fact that I must present a case regarding the extra you have indicates to me that many, many folks don’t think there IS any extra. They get to the end of the month, and there is less money and more month! And that’s when debt occurs – or when people decided that they can’t be generous with their resources.But if you have been doing your homework these past couple of weeks, you may have found that a lot of our “extra” has been consumed – but not on things that are necessary. For instance, if you are part of the Dutch Mafia (Dutch Bros.), and drive through on a regular basis for your morning coffee – you are spending money that isn’t necessary. But I don’t just want to pick on coffee drinkers. It’s the fast food or eating out crowd as well; and the household that subscribes to the dish package with over 240 channels… Those things are things we consume --- but we don’t need. THEREFORE that money that we spend on those things, that is EXTRA.Turn with me to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 12. I want to show you a story that Jesus tells to make a point about the purpose of the extra. 

UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM Week 25: EXTRA! EXTRA! YOU’VE GOT EXTRA! - Luke 12:13-21; Matthew 6:25-34

This morning we are going to talk about PRIORITIES… because we all seem to order our lives in different ways. But is there a best way, a Godly way to prioritize the resources God has entrusted to us as His managers? I believe that there are essentially 5 ways of utilizing those resources. We can... Spend it, Repay debt, Pay Taxes, Save/Invest it, or (if there’s any left) Give it.Now, speaking AS a disciple living in God’s Upside Down Kingdom TO disciples living in God’s Upside Down Kingdom, I have a question: Does anyone see a problem with this?If this is right, if this is the BEST WAY to prioritize your resources, then answer me this: Why do so many people who prioritize like this end up broke, scraping by, living paycheck to paycheck, getting stressed about finances, and experiencing broken relationships? Seems that maybe, just maybe, THIS DOESN’T WORK.I find it frustrating as a pastor that in many cases, disciples of Jesus live with their priorities ordered in this manner, with God last --- UNTIL THEY GET INTO TROUBLE, and then all of a sudden they cry out: “God help me get out of this financial crisis. I need to sell my house. I need a blessing in my life right now…but after Your help, You’re gonna be relegated to the bottom of the list again.”To me that seems pretty messed up. Who is in control in that situation? And, even more importantly, what kind of TRUST does that demonstrate??It has been said in the past: either He is Lord of ALL, or He isn’t Lord AT ALL.The question, when it comes to our resources and the way we manage them and how we acknowledge the Lord in our life, is this: Can we trust God? Can we? And if we SAY we can --- how does that play out practically in our lives?God gives a very practical way to demonstrate our trust in Him --- and it’s all about FIRST-FRUITS.

UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM Week 24: FLIP THE LIST - Malachi 3:7-10, Matthew 6:33

It&apos;s sad; we don’t acknowledge people WANT to be generous. It’s not the heart. People should be commended for the heart. BUT - the problem is the complication of the inability. (Look at bank account, budget, etc. --- how in the world can I be generous on all occasions, as God has instructed?)Why - DEBT. The management/mismanagement of the resources given by God (the Owner of it all) make us feel strapped and trapped. Debt hole like the Grand Canyon.God wants to free you from that trap so that you can live in freedom - free to obey the Spirit’s leading, free from anxiety and feelings of helplessness, free from the rat race we get into in trying to keep up with the Joneses!Now sometimes debt is caused by an unforeseen emergency. I get that. I’ve been there.BUT too many of us are in debt and cannot live in the freedom God calls us into because of unnecessary debt. And what drives unnecessary debt? DISCONTENTMENT.Discontentment is the dissatisfaction with what I have (or don’t have).The word to connect with Discontentment is the word AWARENESS. In our culture we have developed the WRONG KIND of AWARENESS. And in order for us to break through to live in the freedom God has in store for us, we must gain a NEW AWARENESS.

UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM Week 23: A NEW AWARENESS - Matthew 6:19-24, 1 Timothy 6:6-19

How can you know what’s important to someone? How much they talk about it, right?So - if we did a study through the Bible, you’ll find something eye-opening about what is important to God. And we know this is true because of how much of the Bible is centered around those things…Richard Foster, the man who wrote the book about Spiritual Disciplines that we preached through a few years ago, also wrote a book called “Money, Sex, and Power.” His main point was how these three aspects of life are deeply connected with our spiritual lives. He points out that these are three of the most dominant issues found in scripture - and things that Jesus taught about.What’s funny is that all three are natural parts of life that God gave to us --- but when we allow them to get out of hand and begin to control us, they have this amazingly evil power to corrupt if we aren’t careful. Whenever we experience money, sex, and power outside of God’s design, they become god-like in our lives and begin to exert spiritual power over us.This morning we begin a four-week series related to one of those issues. And it’s an issue that is critical for churches to address --- not because of any need the church has, but because of the responsibility we have in teaching the full counsel of God.

UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM Week 22: BEGINNING THE BREAKTHROUGH - Matthew 6:19-24

WHY DO YOU DO GOOD?Is it to LOOK good? Is it because it’s the right thing to do? Is it to get some kind of reward?You know, there are some who believe that the idea of a reward should have no place in the Christian’s life and have no bearing on the Christian’s behavior. They teach that we ought to seek to be good for goodness sake. Virtue is its own reward.But the problem with that is the fact that the Bible speaks a LOT about reward. Jesus will tell us in this passage that there IS reward. Paul would speak of a victor’s crown, John would tell us of a heavenly reward… We are told that if we stand under persecution, we will be rewarded. We are told if we give a cup of cold water in His name, we will be rewarded. We are told that if we love our enemies, we will be rewarded.To shun the idea of rewards in order for our motives to do good seem more pure - that’s the temptation, isn’t it? Oh - I don’t need a reward. I just do things...yes?...you do things --- for what? For the blessing that it is to give, rather than to receive? Well, then wait a second: isn’t that understanding and feeling of blessing a reward in and of itself? Of course it is. The idea of reward is NOT BAD.The issue isn’t whether you are doing things for applause --- it’s FOR WHOSE APPLAUSE are you setting about doing good things in this life? I want to take a good look at what Jesus is saying to us in this passage this week.

UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM Week 21: THE APPLAUSE OF HEAVEN - Matthew 6:1-18

Upside Down Kingdom - Week 20 - Love Your Enemies - Matt 5 43-48

This is a message I have long been waiting to preach about. It&apos;s about being offended. Today&apos;s passage from the Sermon on the Mount has been used in a number of ways: to talk about non-retaliation, to justify pacifism… but I believe it speaks to the idea of becoming unoffendable in an offensive world.The passage: Matthew 5:38-42. The Old Testament  law it&apos;s based on is in Leviticus 24:19-21. And Jesus quotes it in verse 38.The purpose of that law was restraint and equitable punishment. In other words, if someone hit you and knocked out a tooth, you weren&apos;t allowed to go all John Wick on them.If you knocked out a tooth, a tooth was required. That was fair. Good had always cared about the fair treatment of His people. If this passage meant to become a doormat then 13 chapters later, Jesus wouldn&apos;t have taught his followers the proper way to confront people who HAVE sinned against you.That&apos;s a time and a correct way of confronting. Jesus didn&apos;t teach us to just pretend we weren&apos;t sinned against. But he DID teach that God&apos;s way of dealing with it could be trusted.So I think a more relevant application of this passage from the Sermon on the Mount has to do with the things that happen to us that DON&apos;T require us to strike back to make things right.

UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM Week 19: UNOFFENDABLE IN AN OFFENSIVE WORLD - Matthew 5:38-42

Life in God’s Upside Down Kingdom comes with a set of principles laid out by the King himself. As we enter into the Kingdom as disciples, we are called to a life marked by attitudes and actions that differ from the Kingdom of this world.In fact it USED to be that the term “Christian” was synonymous with right behavior. Someone might have said a while ago: “That was a Christian thing to do.” Or they’d say “That’s not very Christian of you.” All according to the behavior of the person.But, like a lot of things, that term began to be misused. People started to label things that THEY didn’t approve of as “unchristian” (whether the Bible addressed the issue or not), and eventually everything seemed to fall under the category of “unchristian:” playing cards, movies, dancing, dating… Growing up I didn’t know what to make of my family on my mom’s side, out in Oklahoma; because I knew that they were believers, but … they SMOKED!!! And drank beer occasionally. :)But even though we categorize some things as “unchristian” that don’t deserve that label, the truth remains that there are things that ARE Christian, and there are things that AREN’T. You could simply call these things “right” and “wrong…” BUT there IS a standard that the King of the Upside Down Kingdom has set for those who enter in and conduct their lives in that Kingdom.What we’ve observed over the past decades is a growing number of people who reject that standard. Now what was once called wrong is called a choice. You can’t tell people that they are behaving in the wrong way. But in the Body of Christ, in the Kingdom of God in which believers live, Jesus calls us to a higher standard.

UPSIDE DOWN KINGDOM Week 18: PANTS ON FIRE - Matthew 5:33-37

In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 9, Jesus is sending the 12 disciples out for a “test run,” if you will. He tells them to go out and heal the sick and cast out demons. He tells them to rely on the kindness of people receptive to the message of the Gospel, and then they go.They had been watching Jesus do the exact same thing. He had modeled for them what it would be like to spread the Gospel message with power. And he handed them the paintbrush and said: “OK, now YOU pick up where I’ve left off…” See, being a disciple of Jesus was never a passive thing. There was movement. There was ministry. There was involvement. If you read through the gospels you’ll see that God’s intent has always been to commission His people to work alongside the master on the Great Masterpiece of redemption.

GOT BEAUTIFUL FEET? Romans 10

Powell Butte Christian Church exists to know, love, and serve God by helping people CONNECT to Jesus Christ and God's Family, encouraging them to GROW to become more like Christ, equipping them to SERVE in ministry and facilitating the Body of Christ to GO - both locally and globally - in the expansion of God's Kingdom. Enjoy our sermons and please feel free to visit us online at powellbuttechurch.com.

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Powell Butte Christian Church

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