Grace Of The Lord Church

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Farewell

September 13, 2021 by CJ Counts

Repentance

June 20, 2021 by CJ Counts

Repentance means to turn from sin. An authentic Christian conversion involves turning to God and turning from Sin at the same time. People turn to God without turning from sin, and people turn from sin without turning to God. One without the other is empty of salvation, and a real Christian has done both at once. 

Stewardship

June 13, 2021 by CJ Counts

Stewards are simply managers of another’s property or business. Everything we have belongs to God, and this applies to a whole lot more than money. Is Jesus the Lord over your entire life?

Transformation

June 6, 2021 by CJ Counts

The Christian is being transformed into a new creation that looks more and more like Jesus over time. This comes from outside us, but we must cooperate with it.

Backsliding

May 30, 2021 by CJ Counts

What does it mean to be a backsliding Christian and what do you do about it if you are backsliding?

Make Believers

May 23, 2021 by CJ Counts

The bible gives us a great deal of information on the matter of people believing they are Christians when they are not, and how to spot the deceived believer. 

Submission & Surrender

May 16, 2021 by CJ Counts

It is a hard thing to submit or surrender our life and will over to another. We have seen authority figures abuse their power. When Leaders are Godly, it is not only safe to submit, but it is beneficial. Furthermore, it is a command from God. 

Spiritual Maturity

May 10, 2021 by CJ Counts

We look at the spiritual growth process in comparison to physical maturity to identify if we are spiritual adults, teens, or babies. 

The Problem With Sin

May 2, 2021 by CJ Counts

Sin is a corruption that has infected the world. We will look at the problem with sin, and of course the solution. 

Idols

April 25, 2021 by CJ Counts

Today we will take a look at the things that may be getting in the way of making Jesus Christ our Lord. Anything that is the first priority in our life is an idol, and God says He is jealous of anything that is in front of Him in line for our attention.

Discipleship Culture

April 18, 2021 by CJ Counts

Today we learn about the value of the great commission and creating a culture of making disciples in our church family. 

Cheap Grace

April 11, 2021 by CJ Counts

We understand that while Grace is free to the disciple of Christ, it cannot be so cheap as to cost nothing. It cost our Lord, and the calling to accept Grace is one that expects everything. This may seem like paradox, but after you hear this message, it will all make sense. 

Grace Of The Lord

April 4, 2021 by CJ Counts

Grace and Lordship are two sides to the same coin. Today we open up a new sermon series named after our church fellowship. 

Guest Preacher

April 1, 2021 by CJ Counts

Today we were honored to have a very special guest fill in for Pastor CJ while he was away. 

So That You May Believe

March 21, 2021 by CJ Counts

We wrap up our epic sermon series through the Gospel Of John as we unpack and review the point of this letter. John wrote a letter that was effectively evangelistic for all people, over all time. We take a step back and reflect on our journey so far, and appreciate all that we have learned. 

Do You Agape Me?

March 14, 2021 by CJ Counts

Today we witness the public restoration of Peter to ministry as Peter grieves his betrayal of Jesus. How wonderful to be forgiven and dispatched to service anyway!

How Easily We Forget

March 7, 2021 by CJ Counts

Today our passage will remind us of how easily we forget the power of God in our lives past.

Empowered and Sent to Preach Repentance

February 28, 2021 by CJ Counts

Today we read about the dawn of Christianity as the apostles get empowered with the Holy Spirit for the first time to share the gospel with the rest of the world.

THE Resurrection

February 21, 2021 by CJ Counts

We are studying the most important event in all of human history, because the resurrection of Jesus Christ changed everything forever!

Your Kingdom Come

February 14, 2021 by CJ Counts

Today, we see part one of Jesus coming into his Kingdom in powerful and epic sermon that is sure to inspire!

Model of Submission

February 8, 2021 by CJ Counts

Jesus Christ is the best example of submission and sacrifice. As the spirit of Christ lives through the believer, we find ourselves living our lives for the benefit of others, and putting God first above all other things. 

What is truth?

February 1, 2021 by CJ Counts

Today we look at the question asked in our text, “what is truth?” As we do, we see a lot of comparisons to our own culture and are challenged to accept the truth in God’s word. 

Legal is not always acceptable

January 26, 2021 by CJ Counts

In our text today, we see that there may be things that the law of the land permit or encourage that are not spiritually healthy or acceptable. What was true 2000 years ago is still very relevant today.  

Peters Denial

January 18, 2021 by CJ Counts

As we study the story of Peter denying that he is a follower of Jesus Christ, we evaluate the value of integrity and become convicted of the ways that our life does not match our words. Are we a follower of Jesus in word only? How are we denying that we are a Jesus follower?

Power & Submission

January 11, 2021 by CJ Counts

The concepts of power and submission feel like they contrast to the people of earth. Power itself is not corrupting though, and we will see in the life of Jesus Christ how He used His power for the good of mankind while submitting to the painful will of God the Father. 

Vision Frame 2021

January 4, 2021 by CJ Counts

Casting vision for 2021 and beyond!

Complete Unity

December 28, 2020 by CJ Counts

Jesus wraps up his prayer and teaching on the night of His betrayal. In this message, He concludes a number of points He has been making and elaborates on how our relationship with Christ results in a relationship with God that overflows into a relationship with our church family. 

The Christmas Story

December 25, 2020 by CJ Counts

Follow along with the Christmas Story workbook at the link below.

Out of this world

December 21, 2020 by CJ Counts

Jesus prays for the sanctification of his disciples so that they will grow as they become transformed into the image of Christ. He prays for His disciples as He sends us into this world to represent His kingdom. 

Eternal Life

December 14, 2020 by CJ Counts

Jesus prays for His disciples and gives us a clear definition of eternal life. Some people may be shocked at how differently Jesus defines life and death compared to the average person. 

In this world you will have trouble

December 7, 2020 by CJ Counts

Jesus will teach his disciples that they are going to stand out from this world, because the values of a Christian disciple are inverted compared to the value systems of this world. The result is that the Christian is going to experience trouble in this world, and paradise in God’s Kingdom, while the people of earth will fit in with this world and experience hell in the next life. By the power of God, we too will overcome this world!

Values Summary

November 30, 2020 by CJ Counts

This is a summary of an 11 week sermon series that describes our values and our strategy to connect people to living out those values. 

Discernment & The Trinity

November 29, 2020 by CJ Counts

As we wrap up our sermon series, we will look at the final manifestation of the Holy Spirit in Discernment to understand what it means and why we need it. Then we will look at the doctrine of the Trinity to try to understand it as best as we humanly can. 

Tongues & Interpretation

November 22, 2020 by CJ Counts

We are traveling through a battlefield of doctrine that is one of the most likely sources of division among churches today, as we discuss the manifestation of tongues. We will look at all of the extensive language dedicated to this particular manifestation in 1st Corinthians chapters 12 – 14 to see what we can learn together from God’s Word.

Healing & Miracles

November 15, 2020 by CJ Counts

We are going to look at the manifestation of the Spirit in Miracles and in Healing. We believe that these manifestations are alive and active on earth today and will give some examples in modern day local families who we know. We are going to talk about why God does these things, and teach about how to spot the real from the fake.

Faith

November 8, 2020 by CJ Counts

We are going to look at the doctrines of faith as we approach the next Manifestation Of The Holy Spirit in Faith. We will see the biblical examples of 5 types of faith, including an intellectual faith that does not save, a rocky faith that does not sustain, a saving faith that submits to the life of Christ in us, a growing faith that develops over time, and the manifestation of the faith of God to empower us for mighty acts of service, and bolds leaps of faith. 

Wisdom & Knowledge

November 1, 2020 by CJ Counts

We will unpack the differences between the spiritual gifts and the manifestation of the Spirit, and recall the importance of unity in a church with diverse gifts. We will specifically deal with the manifestation of the spirits wisdom and knowledge in a believers life as we do ministry and serve Christ.

Mercy

October 25, 2020 by CJ Counts

We will discuss the spiritual gift of Mercy and unpack what it means and what it looks like for those who have this gift. The gift of Mercy often manifests itself in the gift holder by empowering them with a supernatural sensitivity to how others are feeling emotionally, and what they need spiritually. As we discuss this gift, we will learn about ways to grow and mature in our gift and ensure that God is glorified as we use the gift. 

Leadership

October 18, 2020 by CJ Counts

We are going to take a look at the spiritual gift of leadership, as well as the natural born leaders who are talented in areas of leadership. We are also going to take a look at the leadership values of our church, our leadership development opportunities, and discover how we can identify a true leader and a spiritual leader. 

Gift of Giving

October 11, 2020 by CJ Counts

We are going to look at the spiritual gift of giving as well as the doctrines of giving. We have discovered that many in our church have never heard about the doctrines of giving and have been surprised as they learned about what the Word says. Since there is not much to be said about the gift of giving, we are going to use this as an opportunity to deal with giving in the body of christ in general as well. 

Exhortation is encouragement

October 4, 2020 by CJ Counts

We will be looking at the spiritual gift of Exhortation/Encouragement. This gift is not to be confused with prophecy or teaching, but is very often used with prophecy and teaching. This gift can be identified when somebody wants to urge a person forward in spiritual maturity or to lift them up. It is always used relationally and serves to move people forward onto God’s agenda for them.  

Teaching

September 28, 2020 by CJ Counts

As we explore the spiritual gift of teaching, you will learn now to grow in your gift if this is one of yours. You will also learn how to identify a false teacher and how to apply one of our most effective tools for discerning if one is a false or true teacher. 

Serving Is Ministry

September 21, 2020 by CJ Counts

We will unpack the spiritual gift of Ministry/Service. We will look at the value of serving in the average Christians life and the spiritual gift of service that empowers some Christians for exceptional service. 

Prophecy

September 14, 2020 by CJ Counts

We get to know about the Spiritual Gift of prophecy, the office of a prophet, and how to identify a true prophecy from a false prophecy. 

Spiritual Gifts

September 7, 2020 by CJ Counts

We learn that our spiritual gifts are designed to serve the body of Christ. Gifts are designed to be used in unity with other gift holders in proportion to our calling in the context of the local church. 

Spiritual Gifts Intro

August 31, 2020 by CJ Counts

This is an introduction message to spiritual gifts. We will talk about the difference between the spiritual gifts listed in Romans 12, the manifestations of the Spirit when using gifts as listed in 1st Corinthians, and the spiritual offices listed in Ephesians. We will discuss why God gives us such gifts and we will prepare ourselves to begin to look at each gift individually as we progress through this mini series.

I Know A Ghost Pt 3

August 24, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 16:14, Galatians 5:16, 1 Timothy 4:14, John 14:18, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 12:7, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 1:13, 1 John 2:20, Ephesians 5:18-21, John 14:17, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: I Know A Ghost | Having the Holy Spirit in us enables us to live a Godly life, which is the life of Jesus Christ in us. The Holy Spirit enables us to be transformed into the image of Christ, and is intentional about drawing us into a deeper relationship with Himself.

I know a Ghost Pt 2

August 16, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 16:14, Philippians 2:10-11, John 11:4, John 13:31-31, Psalm 115:1, Philippians 3:3, John 14:6, Acts 4:33, Acts 4:20, 2 Corinthians 3:17 – 4:7, Colossians 1:27, Galatians 4:6, Acts 7:48, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: I Know A Ghost | Continuing on in our mini series, getting to know who the Holy Spirit is and why He works on earth. This message will lay the foundation of the messages to come, so it is a must see!

I Know A Ghost

August 9, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 15:26 – 16:15, John 14:6, Romans 8:9-11, Philippians 1:19, Galatians 4:6, 2 Timothy 1:14, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Galatians 5:16-17, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John, I Know A Ghost | We begin a sermon mini series to dive deep into the theology of the Holy Spirit. As we do, we learn that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus Christ and everything He does is for the glory of Christ. There is a lot said in this message, so you will not want to skip it!

They will hate Him through us

August 2, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 15:18- 16:4, 2 Corinthians 5:20, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 2 Timothy 3:12, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-6 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Just as Jesus taught us that He will love the world through His disciples, so the opposite is true. The world will hate Jesus through His disciples. Jesus tells us this, not to discourage us, but to help us affirm that we are on the right path that God has set out for us. We may share in the suffering of Jesus Christ, but we also get to inherit His glory, which surpasses any momentary afflictions that this world may offer!

Love One Another

July 19, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 15: 12-17, John 14:15, John 14:21, John 14:23, John 15:10, Galatians 6:10, 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John, The Vineyard | Jesus commands us to love each other in a way that seems radical to how the people of earth love each other. We are to love each other in a way that would be impossible for us alone, but is expected for those who have God’s Holy Spirit indwelling. God expects the love to be from an overflow. It starts with our love for Him, it overflows onto our love for God’s family, the Church, and continues to spill over onto the people in our community around us who do not yet know God.

Complete Joy

July 12, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 15:11, Philippians 4:4, Jeremiah 15:16, Psalm 16:11, Acts 13:48-49, 52, 3 John 1:4, James 1:2-3, Habakkuk 3: 17-19, Psalm 51:8, 12 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John, The Vineyard | As we continue on in our Lessons From The Vineyard, we move into identifying what Fruit looks like. We have discussed what Fruit is, what God’s role in us bearing it is, and what is the believers role in bearing Fruit. Now we are walking with Jesus as He explains what Fruit looks like, and today, He tells us that a mature Christian who Abides in Christ will experience complete Joy that transcends understanding!

Intimacy That Leads To Obedience

July 5, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 15: 6-10, Luke 22:39, Luke 22:41, Matthew 14:23, Luke 6:12, John 14:10, 14:15, John 14:21, John 14:23, John 15:14, John 14:31, Revelation 2:2-5 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John, The Vineyard | We have spoken at great length about our life in Christ, and how we can do nothing without Him. We learned that anything that we do that can bring glory to God must be done out of the overflow of our life in Christ. With these lessons in mind, we move forward in our sermon series to discover the truth that life in Christ leads us to obedience to Him.

The Fathers Role In Bearing Fruit Pt. 2

June 28, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 15:1-8, Psalm 31:19-20, Romans 2:4, Romans 6: 1-2, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Romans 8:28-29, Romans 5:9, Hebrews 12:5-11, Philippians 4:13 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John, The Vineyard | Today, we will learn more about what Jesus meant when he said that Christians should “bear fruit”. The fruit in a Christians life are the markers of a healthy relationship with God. This week, we will discuss what is God’s role in us bearing fruit in an expansion from what we learned about last week.

The Fathers Role In Bearing Fruit

June 21, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 15:1-8, Philippians 1:6, Psalm 40:1-3, John 10:28-29, John 6:37, 39-40, 2 Corinthians 5:17 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John, The Vineyard | Today, we will learn more about what Jesus meant when he said that Christians should “bear fruit”. The fruit in a Christians life are the markers of a healthy relationship with God. This week, we will discuss what is God’s role in us bearing fruit.

How Do I Abide?

June 14, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 15: 1-8, Mark 1:35, Mark 3: 13-14 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John, The Vineyard | Today, we will learn more about what Jesus meant when he said that Christians should “bear fruit”. The fruit in a Christians life are the markers of a healthy relationship with God. In this portion of the message, we learn what is the believers role in Bearing Fruit.

Bear Fruit

June 7, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Philippians 1:6, John 15:1-8, Colossians 1: 9-10, Mark 4:20, John 14:13, John 1:14, Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Galatians 5:16, Romans 13:14, Galatians 5:22-23, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John, The Vineyard | Today, we will learn more about what Jesus meant when he said that Christians should “bear fruit”. The fruit in a Christians life are the markers of a healthy relationship with God.

Love & Obey

May 31, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Romans 10:9, 2 Peter 1:3, John 14:22-24, Ephesians 2:8-10, Revelation 3:16 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Jesus teaches us that he can tell how much we love him by how much we are willing to trust him in our obedience. This message is going to convict us, and is sure to inspire spiritual growth!

Abide In Love

May 24, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 14: 15-21 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Jesus starts to teach us about his relationship with God the father, and how God will live in the believer by the power of Gods Holy Spirit. Jesus tells us that a marker of one who has God living in them is a lifestyle of love.

In The Name Of Jesus Christ

May 17, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 14: 13-14, 1 Timothy 2:8, Hebrews 4:16 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | We learn about the origination of the tradition to pray in the name of Jesus Christ, and we continue to talk about the power of prayer.

The Way

May 10, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 14: 1-12 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Jesus Christ and God are one with each other. Therefore, you can not get to know God without getting to know Jesus. Jesus is not Gods favorite way to heaven, Jesus is the only way, because it is Gods heaven. It is not a preference, it is a matter of fact. Some may not like the exclusive way, but they forget that this exclusive way is large enough for the whole world to travel down.

They will know you by your love

May 3, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 13: 31-38 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Jesus gives us some clear ways to measure what is a disciple. If you want to know how to identify a disciple of Christ, today’s message will be inspirational.

Betrayal Of Jesus

April 26, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 13: 21-30, Matthew 26: 20-25, Romans 8: 28, Genesis 50:20 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Jesus Christ was betrayed by a member of his core team. A man who he hand selected to be one of his original leadership team members had faked sincerity and was motivated toward fellowship with this group for selfish reasons.

Servant Leadership

April 19, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 13: 1-20 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Even non-believers must agree that Jesus is among the greatest leaders of all time. In our message today, we are going to watch His leadership style to see what makes him so different then the average person in authority.

Easter 2020

April 12, 2020 by CJ Counts

We are going to tell the Easter story from a different angle then you may be used to. You are not going to want to miss this one!

So That You May Believe

April 5, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 12: 44-50, Romans 14:12 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | The theme of The Gospel of John is written over and over and statements like our title. The letter was written so that you may believe! In today’s message we are going to have a very clear picture painted for us and what we are supposed to believe in and why.

Glory in humility

March 29, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 12: 12-43 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | The basic foundational principals on earth are inverted compared to in the kingdom of heaven, which is not of this world. In the kingdom of heaven, those who fight to be first in line end up last in line in the next life, where as those who humbly serve in this earth get to be first in line in the kingdom of heaven.

Enemies and Allies

March 20, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 12: 1-11 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | In today’s message, we look at the continued story of the relationship between Jesus and the siblings Mary, Martha, and Lazarus while contrasting to the public opinion and the religious attitudes of the leaders in Jerusalem.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

March 15, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 11: 45-57, Luke 24:26, John 3:12, Acts 5:41, 2 Corinthians 12:10, John 15:18-19 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Have you ever done something nice, and almost regretted it afterwards because your reward was ingratitude or even worse! Well, let’s imagine how Jesus felt after raising Lazarus from the dead, just to end up with a warrant for His arrest!

Discipleship

March 8, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Matthew 28: 18-20 | Preacher: Pastor Al Barrera | Today we had an excellent message from a guest speaker, Pastor Al Barrera, from The Send Network on Discipleship.

Resurrection and the Life

March 3, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 11: 1-44, Daniel 12:2, Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 20:14, Luke 14:14, John 5:29, 1 Corinthians 15:20, Matthew 27:52-53, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Revelation 20:12-13, Acts 26:23, John 17:3, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Jesus is the author of physical life. Jesus is the owner of spiritual life. There is no life apart from Jesus Christ!

 

Worship

February 25, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 11: 1-44, Hebrews 12:28, Job 1:20-21, Romans 12:1, John 4:24, Isaiah 29:13 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | What is worship? What does it mean to worship? Is it a feeling? It is a type of music? Lets take a hard look at biblical worship and see how God might inspire us in today’s message.

Grief

February 16, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 11:1-44 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | In today’s message we will deal with the topic of grief over the death of the ones we love. Even people who have their faith rooted in sound doctrine will inevitably lash out in anger about the situation and cry out “Why God? Oh why?” Because the pain is real.

Be a Disciple. Don’t Wait. Start Today!

February 10, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: 1 John 5:11 & 2 Timothy 1:8-9 | Preacher: Kris Briggs | Chaplain Kris Briggs brings her testimony to the table and uses it to explain the dire need to incorporate personal experiences into the saving experience. When a the Gospel is shared, it is critical to share your personal experiences with God saving you.

If You Believe

February 8, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 11:1-44 ESV | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | In this world, there are times that can feel hopeless. And yet we do have a hope that surpasses anything this would can offer! We believers will have struggles and experience pain, but we get to experience that with a hope that the rest of the world does not understand!

Making Disciples

January 26, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Matthew 28:18-20 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Who’s Your One? | Today we will be trained in our role in making disciples. We have heard it talked about, now we will be trained up in how to make disciples ourselves!

Chosen One

January 12, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Matthew 28: 18-20, Luke 6: 12-13, Mark 13:13 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Who’s Your One? | In todays message, you will be trained on how to share the gospel and how to share your testimony.

Friend Of Sinners

January 5, 2020 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Luke 5:20, Luke 5:27-28, Luke 5: 30-32, Romans 3:23, Galatians 6:1  | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Who’s Your One? | Jesus loves sinners so much that he would go as far as to die for us. Sadly, for some reason, there are some saved sinners who feel like they are too good to keep company with people who sin differently then they do. In todays message, we will contrast the attitude of Jesus toward sinners with the attitude of the religious elite in the gospels.

Who’s Your One?

December 29, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Romans 10:9 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Who’s Your One? | There is a difference between a Christian and a Disciple. While all of Christ’s Disciples are Christians, not all Christians will invest intentionally enough to mature into a Disciple. The funny thing is, the Bible rarely speaks of us being converted to Christians, but it regularly speaks of Christs desire for us to be His Disciples.

Jesus is the reason

December 17, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Luke 2: 6-7 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Christmas Traditions | Many will say the trendy phrase “Jesus is the reason for the season”, and yet for so many still, there is a major disconnect between our life on Sunday mornings and Friday night. If we really believe that Jesus is the reason for the season, we must realize that Jesus is so much more then a Christmas tradition.

Christmas Tradition of going to church

December 15, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Luke 4:16, John 15:12, Hebrews 10: 24-25, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Christmas Traditions | There are many Americans who will include going to church as part of their annual Christmas tradition. For that we are grateful. But if Jesus is the reason for the season, and we really believe that, shouldn’t Jesus be worthy of so much more then a once per year worship gathering?

Family Traditions

December 8, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Luke 8:21 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Christmas Traditions | We are taking a look at the biblical precedent for many of our American Christmas traditions. As we do, we notice how many of them have become perverted from their original intentions, and we will seek ways as a church to redeem these fallen traditions in the strong name of Jesus Christ!

Christmas Presents

December 1, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Mathew 2:11 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Christmas Traditions | We are taking a look at the biblical precedent for many of our American Christmas traditions. As we do, we notice how many of them have become perverted from their original intentions, and we will seek ways as a church to redeem these fallen traditions in the strong name of Jesus Christ!

The first tradition we will be picking on, Christmas presents!

Leap Of Faith

November 24, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 10: 31-42, Psalm 82:6, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Many think of faith as a blind thing. While it is true that sometimes we must trust when we don’t fully understand, Jesus gives us some compelling evidence that is intellectually stimulating for why we can believe what we believe. In this message, we will explore three evidences that we can place our trust in which will affirm our faith.

Sheep or not part of the flock?

November 17, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 10: 22-30, Hebrews 13:17, Psalm 13:1, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Jesus Christ explains to non-believers how it is he can identify those who follow him, and those who just say the words.

The Good Shepherd

November 3, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 10: 1-21 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Jesus Christ will compare himself with a good shepherd because he would lay down his physical life for his flock. We see how he contrasts the concept of giving his physical life so that we could receive spiritual life. This message is sure to be captivating and inspiring!

Jesus Shares The Gospel

October 27, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Romans 3:25, John 3:17, Ezekiel 34: 15-16, John 9: 35-41 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Today, we get to watch and see the difference between how Jesus shares the gospel, and the way the Pharisees share their faith.

Rings Of Truth

October 20, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 9: 8-34 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John |

We will look at the difference between a Christians personal convictions and preferences, and non-negotiable doctrinal positions. We believe this is an important distinction for Christians to make.

Diversity in Theology

October 6, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 9: 1-12, Matthew 5:45, Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 4:17 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | How is it possible that there can be such a diversity in Christian beliefs when these same churches are being lead by Godly people who are honestly seeking Gods direction? We will cover this and more in our sermon today as we continue in the Gospel of John

Religious Pride

September 22, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 8: 48-59 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | As we wrap up chapter 8, we see Jesus finish up his conversation in the temple treasury. During his conversation, he has dealt with the topic of why it is so hard for non-believers to understand the message of the gospel. In our text, he was dealing with people who knew scripture well and went to church every weekend, and yet did not know God. We will learn in our text today that the issue for these folks was that their religious pride blinded them to their need for a savior.

Like Father Like Son

September 15, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 8: 38-47, Hosea 11:6 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Jesus says that he seeks to do the will of His father in heaven, and to imitate His father. We believe that if Jesus is living in the believer today, we will be motivated toward the same things Jesus is motivated toward. Therefore, the believer will desire to imitate and obey our father in heaven.

Truth Will Set You Free

September 8, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 8: 31-37 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Jesus says that He is the truth. We also know that the Bible is truth. In this sermon we will learn how these truths can free us from the things that have us in bondage.

Not Of This World

September 1, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 8: 21-30, Matthew 24:35, Revelation 21:1 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Jesus explained that his kingdom is not of this world. For those who do not belong to Christ, understanding the things of heaven is like us trying to understand some alien technology. But for those of us who are citizens of God’s kingdom, the matters that Jesus teaches are as plain to understand as any other every day situation.

Light Of The World

August 25, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 8: 12-20, 1 Corinthians 1:18, Matthew 5:15, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Philippians 1:6 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Jesus announced that he is the messiah that has come to save the world. All who follow him will walk in the light of God, and those who do not know God will remain in the darkness that is our sinful life.

Adulterous Woman

August 18, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 8: 1-11 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Nobody with sin in their life is worthy of judging another person for their own sin. Jesus is the only one qualified to judge, and yet he is often the only one who is first to forgive.

Where do you stand?

August 11, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 7:40-52, James 2:19, Romans 10:9 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | We all have made a decision about who we believe Jesus Christ is. Nobody is truly undecided. So where do you stand on this question?

Living Water

August 4, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 7: 37-39, Ephesians 1:13, John 17:3, 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | When we have God living in us, we are able to experience a life that is overflowing with His love and light. This is not a metaphor. Literally, we can trade in all the things we used to feed our soul with, that has left us unsatisfied, in exchange for a life overflowing with love and peace that transcends understanding.

Glow Time

July 29, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 4:34-35, Acts 1:3, Acts 1:8, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: What We Are All About | The life of a Disciple is nothing more or less then the life Jesus lived, except being lived now through the believer. Jesus was very passionate about expanding Gods kingdom. As we come to the closing message in our sermon series, we will see how this passion of Gods is lived out through His disciples today.

Group Time

July 25, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Mark 3:13-14, Colossians 3: 12-17, Philippians 2:3, Acts 2:42, Acts 2:46, Romans 12:18, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: What We Are All About | The small group church community is a fundamental tool in growing the believer into a disciple. We can see examples of this in the life of Christ.

Gather Time

July 14, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Luke 4:16, Acts 20:7, Psalm 95: 1-3, Psalm 95: 6-7, Hebrews 10: 24-25, 1 Timothy 4:13 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: What We Are All About | The church is not an event we attend. The church is not a religious organization. The church is a family we belong to. When we gather together to worship, we come expecting God to manifest His presence.

God Time

July 8, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: What We Are All About | We have spoken a lot lately about how important it is to grow deeper in our relationship with God, and by now you may be convinced. But how do you do this you may still ask? By spending time with Him. We will talk about what spending time with the Lord looks like, and give you some great tips for spending some great time alone with God.

Heart Like Gods

July 1, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Luke 4:42-44, Matthew 24:14, Mark 1:35 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: What We Are All About | As we grow more mature in our relationship with Christ, our heart will long for the things God’s heart longs for more and more. The more God lives in us, the less attracted we become to the things that do not attract God, and the more passionate we become about the things that God is passionate about.

Glow

June 24, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Romans 10:14, John 12: 45-46, Hebrews 1:1-3, Ephesians 2:10, Matthew 5:16 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: What We Are All About | One of the most important relationships in the life of a disciple is the relationship between us and the community of the lost around us. Therefore, a value of our church is its relationship with our neighborhood. We are called to be a light in the world, and we live in a dark world. Therefore, a disciple is one who will glow in the dark!

Membership Class 2019

July 31, 2019 by CJ Counts

Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Seminars | membership Class Handout

Learn what we believe, why we believe it, what our mission is, and how we plan to accomplish it. Learn how we govern our church, what it means to be a member, and other great insights into why you would want to be a member of Grace Of The Lord.Church

Fellowship

June 16, 2019 by CJ Counts

You belong to a spiritual family. The modern church is a fundamental part of Gods plan to grow us closer to him. We can not live in right relationship with God with out being in a relationship with Gods family.

Belong

June 2, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Genesis 1:26, Genesis 2:18, Acts 2:41, Acts 2:47, John 1:12, John 14:15, John 15:12, 1 John 4: 20-21, Matthew 5: 23-24, Acts 2:42, 1 John 4:12 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: What We Are All About | You belong to a spiritual family. The modern church is a fundamental part of Gods plan to grow us closer to him. We can not live in right relationship with God with out being in a relationship with Gods family.

Spending Time With God

May 26, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Matthew 11:28-30, John 8:32, Romans 6:6-7, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Romans 5:2, 2 Peter 1:3, John 14:15, John 15:5, John 14:31, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: What We Are All About | It is vital to our spiritual growth that we spend time with God. This means a whole lot more then just checking in at church once a week. Rather, it is like any other relationship we are in that we want to be healthy. It takes regular time spent in fellowship, even daily, to be in a healthy relationship with God.

Abide In God

May 12, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Mark 3:13-14, 1 Timothy 2:3-4, Isaiah 59:2, 1 Timothy 2, Matthew 7: 22-23:5-6, John 17:3, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: What We Are All About | This may be the most important sermon ever preached at our church. The message of this sermon is so important that if you miss this, you will miss everything in your Christian life.

It’s All About Relationship

May 5, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 17:3, John 17:18 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: What We Are All About | We begin a series of sermons as we define our values and explore why God ordained that we start this church. We believe that Aurora does not need another Sunday Service. Aurora needs a church that is going to serve the community and raise up authentic disciples. We will define what it means to be a disciple, and what is our strategy for accomplishing Gods vision for our church.

Judge Not

April 28, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 7: 20-36 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Today, we compare the heart of Jesus who “did not come to judge the world, but to save it” with the contrast behavior of many Christians who live with a judgmental attitude. We see how those who gossip, act pretentious, or judge others harshly will not stand for the same treatment themselves, and are not representing the God who they claim Abides in them.

What, How, And Especially Why – Easter Service

April 23, 2019 by CJ Counts

Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | We will celebrate the reason why God died for us, and the means by which we have been saved. This service is certain to be one to remember with powerful illustrations and a deep, meaningful message.

Glow In The Dark

April 14, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 7: 1-19 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Jesus teaches us that as we grow in Christian maturity, we will stand out in our society as rebels who live contrary to the status quo. Pastor C.J. will relate this to being a people who glow in the dark.

Take Him or Leave Him

April 10, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 6: 60-71, Mark 12:27, Romans 10:9 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Jesus has offered us the free gift of salvation, and it is easily accepted when we reach out and grab it with our faith. Sadly, many send themselves to hell by refusing this free gift. In our next message, we learn how there is ultimately two ways to respond to Jesus, and there is no middle ground. We are for him, or we are against him.

Abide

March 25, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 6:41-59 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | NOTE: Due to some technical difficulties, the beginning of this audio file was cut off. The audio picks up just after the sermon introduction and a brief summary of the previous sermons to give context for the passages we read in this sermon, and it begins just after we started reading the scriptures in reference. 

You won’t have missed much, but you could listen to the previous sermons, and read the passage to get the context that is missed in what was cut off in this audio file. 

Religion or Relationship

March 18, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 6: 22-40 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Faith & Trust

March 10, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6: 45-52, John 6: 15-21, 2 Chronicles 32:31 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Financial Miracle

March 5, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 6: 5-14, Luke 9:10-17, Mark 6:30-44, Matthew 14:13-21 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Truth

February 24, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: 2 Kings 22:1, 2 Kings 22:8, 2 Kings 22:11-13, 2 Kings 22:16-20, 2 Kings 23:3 | Preacher: Allen Huth | Series: Guest Speaker

Why did God plant our Church?

February 17, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Matthew 28:17-20, John 1:14, Matthew 16:24, Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19, 2 Timothy 2:2 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Vision Casting

The Bread Of Life

February 11, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 6: 1-58, 1st Corinthians 11: 27-29 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John | Sermon Transcript:
Today we are coming out of John chapter five as we begin to explore chapter six

 

It took us five sermons to get through the 47 verses in chapter five.

 

And there is also a whole lot to cover here in chapter six

 

As we enter in to this new chapter of the gospel of John we find some divine timing.

 

Today, after the sermon, we are going to celebrate the salvation through Gods death by torture with the tradition called communion.

 

In this tradition, there are the elements of bread and a juice to represent the blood and body of Jesus Christ

 

This timing is interesting, because in our sermon series, we just so happen to be landing on a portion of our text as Jesus calls himself the Bread of Life.

 

In our text today, Jesus will make direct statements such as how drinking his blood and eating his flesh, metaphorically, will give eternal life.

 

The timing of our message and our first communion service as Grace Of The Lord Church is not by my own design

 

So I would like you to turn in your bibles to John chapter 6.

 

We are going to read a large portion of this scripture to give some over all context.

 

This is important. Context. Because when studying the bible, we must not look at the significance of any one verse by itself.

We must have the whole context of the bible, or at least the individual book, or its whole chapter, to understand the real meaning of a verse.

 

For example, when Jesus will say that those who eat his flesh and drink his blood will have eternal life, there are churches who take that out of context to mean that communion is necessary for salvation.

 

We will look at a larger view of these scriptures to give the authentic context of Jesus’s words by reading much of this chapter now.

 

It will require us to gloss over some minor points today.

 

In our text today, we will find so many great points that could be made, but it won’t be practical to make them all now.

 

So we will read a large portion and make the primary points in context, and then we will come back to these scriptures to pick out the various other points in later sermons.

 

Meaning we will review some of this text again in later sermons, but we will be making some more general points today.

 

It could take us a while to get out of chapter 6. It will take us a good long while to get out of John as a result, but I am in no rush.

 

I want to let Gods word speak to us on every point that it makes, so that we can boast in having received the fullness of God’s word

 

John 6:1-2

Sometime after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick.

 

So sometime after Jesus finished his confrontation with the religious leaders in Jerusalem, he crossed the sea of Galiilee

 

And notice that a big crowed followed him, why?

 

Not because they were spiritually seeking

 

They were attracted to the signs and miracles the Jesus had performed.

 

They knew he could heal the sick. They heard of the power he was in charge of

 

They were attracted to what Jesus could do for them.

 

And Jesus knew it. That is why he did those works.

 

He knew that through community service, he would get attention, and with that attention, he might earn the right to be heard by the group

 

He wants the world to know God. But nobody is going to listen to a crazy preacher on a soap box, no matter where that soap box is.

 

Before people will listen, one must earn the right to be heard.

 

So Jesus would meet practical needs, and earn respect. Then use that to promote the gospel message.

 

We use the same strategy here. We show Gods love through community service and good deeds.

 

Then people just might listen when we invite them to God or invite them to Church.

But the invitation is empty with out us first attempting to meet a practical need in the community.

 

Vs 3

3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

 

5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

 

So Jesus has a crowd, and sees a teaching moment. He knows that it wont take long before a person gets hungry, and food is the universal language of love

 

He turns to his disciple Philip and says “where should we buy food enough for everybody here”

 

He asks, not to get an answer he could not discern for himself.

 

Jesus knows the reality here. He was testing Philip.

 

Any leader knows that the way to stimulate a persons mind is through questions

 

Also, a way to test a persons knowledge is through questions.

 

It is through questions that I can learn how much you have been paying attention, or how much you are willing to confirm to the will of God in faith.

 

Vs 7

Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

 

Philip does what most of us, including myself, tends to do when faced with a ministry challenge.

 

We assess the practical cost. He says, we don’t have it in the budget, and even if we saved for a year, we still could not scratch the surface of this need.

 

Sound familiar?

 

Vs 8

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

 

So Phil is feeling discouraged by his lack of physical resources, Andrew steps forward in obedience

 

Andrew starts to look at what they can do to help, instead of focusing on what is missing.

 

And just like any human would, he felt a little discouraged when he saw just how far his best efforts fell short

 

He put all he could together to be obedient to what God was leading, and saw quickly that he just did not have what it took to go as far as God was leading.

 

Then God started to work. First God tested. Then somebody stepped forward in faithful obedience, realized that on his own, it could not enough.

 

Then God started to work.

 

Vs 10

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there).

 

5000 men probably meant that there was also women and children present who were not counted. Elaborate

 

Vs 11

Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

 

12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

 

God did it! He did a miracle that took the meager resources of this group of faithful servants, and served a huge community need.

 

We will come back and deal with this financial miracle in another sermon, but we will keep reading on as we get to the point of Jesus being the bread of life, because his miracle is relevant to Christs statements later.

 

Vs 15

After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

 

Still here we see that the people God is serving are missing the point. They call him a prophet, because they can not help but see his power.

 

But they are not worshiping him as he deserves to be worshiped as one with God.

 

So it is with our community. God will use us, and we will bare his image, and share his love for the sake of their salvation

 

And most will only give credit as far as to say we are charitable, and nothing more.

 

At this point, Jesus and his disciples cross the sea to Capernaum, and we will come back to those verses later

 

But on the other side of the sea we pick up here.

 

The crowd followed Jesus and his crew, chased him down and we see in

Vs 25

 

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

 

26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

 

Jesus said, you followed me for one reason, you want breakfast!

 

You saw me create this food from prayer, and your looking for more of the same.

 

and if it was not for the free food bank, you probably would not even step foot in the church

 

So Jesus says, if your looking for food, I have something better. There is something you can ingest spiritually that can give you eternal live.

 

The food you are seeking, it expires, and even if you eat, you just get hungry again

 

But what Jesus is offering truly grants eternal life

 

Vs 28

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

 

29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

 

They heard Jesus call them out for their intentions and said “we are not free loaders, we will earn our breakfast. What job do you want us to do to get some of that magic bread?

 

Jesus said, I don’t want your work, or your labor, I want your heart. I want your faith

 

God does not desire religious slaves. He desires family. He desires relationship

 

That is part of what we will be celebrating with this communion service later.

 

This is not some religious ritual that earns us any favor.

 

It is our way of celebrating the cost that was paid so that we could receive free grace

 

But these people were just not getting it

Vs 30

So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’

 

They essentially said “sure, we will give you our faith, as soon as you give us more food”

 

They even quoted scripture to Jesus about when God provided for the Israelites as they wandered in the desert by raining bread from heaven.

 

I have seen this kind of thing plenty of times. Examples of phone calls where only cash will do, while they use Christian language INSINCER

 

Vs 32

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

 

Jesus corrected them and said Moses did not give them anything. It is God who provided the bread

 

Vs 34

“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

 

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.

 

They still, looking for more free community service, and rejecting the spiritual message say directly, just give us some bread man!

 

This text makes us ask, why do we come to church?

 

Is it for the free coffee? I am joking, because there is great coffee in lots of places

 

But is it for you to get some emotional or physical need met?

 

Or is it for you to get a spiritual need met?

 

So Jesus said directly, “I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE, and I can meet every need”

 

When we come to church to get our physical needs met, like to take advantage of this service or that, this is fine to us and to the Lord, because it is a foot in the door

 

Or if we come to church to get an emotional need met, like we need a place to belong, or whatever, this is fine, because meeting emotional needs is very much a ministry priority.

 

But if it starts and stops there, we will just end up hungry again. Feeding those mouths will not satisfy the craving.

 

However, if we come to get our spiritual needs met, through the work of Jesus Christ, then God meets not just the spiritual need, but the physical and emotional needs as well

 

He will satisfy every hunger, and quench every thirst.

 

This text asks us to question our motives for why we are here.

 

Jesus called these ones out and said “you have seen my power, and how I have worked in the lives all around you, and even in your own, and yet you still do not belong to God”

 

Vs 41

At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

 

Of course the people did not like that. They wanted God to do what they wanted God to do

 

But Jesus wanted to challenge them in a spiritual direction that made them uncomfortable

 

So they grumbled. They wanted their personal needs met, but God wanted spiritual growth

 

So they grumbled. God did not move how they asked God to move. God wanted to move them instead.

 

So they grumbled. Sound familiar?

Vs 43

“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered.

 

We see that they were not grumbling to Jesus, they were grumbling to themselves.

 

This is very typical. When somebody has a complaint with a very shaky position, they are unlikely to bring it up to the person that offended them

 

Instead, they will complain to each other so that they can parrot their complaints back and forth with out challenge.

 

If they had a solid argument, they would have brought it to Jesus. But they just wanted to complain, and deep inside they knew they were wrong, so they grumbled to each other.

 

This is a sign of them lacking spiritual maturity. And a sign that they had no valid argument, and no willingness to change their position.

 

Sound familiar?

 

But here comes the point.

Vs 48

I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

 

Jesus used the bread as a symbol of his own body, his own flesh.

 

He was not saying that we need to literally eat him, or that the work of eating communion bread was going to give us eternal life.

 

Jesus was using a metaphor.

 

As we eat a piece of bread, that bread is digested, and becomes a part of us. It nourishes us, and gives us real life.

 

So it is with Jesus himself. As we accept him in to our lives, His holy spirit lives in side us

 

If we belong to God, then God becomes a part of our lives, fills us up with life, and God gives us a real life that lasts forever.

 

This is what Jesus means when he says in vs 53

 

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

 

God is not concerned with our religious rituals and traditions.

 

Eating the living bread means that we have accepted Jesus Christ in to our lives.

 

That we unite ourselves with him by believing in his torturous death, which was the sacrifice of his flesh.

 

By believing in his resurrection, and by devoting our lives to him as he requires.

 

Depending on his teaching for guidance and trusting in his holy spirit for power.

 

By eating this bread, and drinking this juice, we are committing to take Gods life and make it our own

 

Today we are going to celebrate the lords offering to us with the ceremony of communion.

 

My team is going to pass out these two elements, one at a time.

 

First the bread, then the juice.

 

Everybody is welcomed to come to the table of Grace

 

While it is a ceremony of believers, therefore it would be a silly thing for a non-believer to celebrate.

 

While believers in Gods death and resurrection are invited, all are welcomed.

 

As we share this ceremony together, this is a time of commitment.

 

As you take these elements, we should be reflecting on our faith, praying to God in gratitude for how he had died to save us

 

As we take the elements, we should be also committing our lives over to him completely.

 

Giving him lordship over our will, and the direction our choices would go.

 

If you have done this already, we will renew this commitment and express this gratitude again, and again, and again, because it is healthy.

 

Afterall, husbands don’t say “I love you” to their wives during the wedding and then never again.

Husbands commit to their wives their faithfulness, loyalty, and devotion, every single day.

 

So it is with us and our god.

 

If you have never given your life to God, or you feel insecure, today is the day for you to walk out of here completely secured and certain of your eternal destination.

 

Today you can commit to God, and leave here belonging to him.

 

All you have to do is pray your desire to follow him, and express your faith in his Son, and give a commitment to follow his will for your life.

 

You can do that as we share this ceremony together.

 

1st Corinthians 11: 27-29

So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.

 

This is why I invite believers to the table of communion.

 

This is also why I desire that we celebrate in this way regularly.

 

This is an opportunity to really reflect. Not on our religious commitments, but on our faithful relationship

 

Do we belong to God. We will never be perfect, so we should not feel guilty about our sin

 

Let instead our failure convict us into a deeper relationship with our savior and God

 

Our message today had a central theme.

 

The people who were coming to Christ were coming for all the wrong reasons.

 

So too we should check our motives for what is drawing us to church.

 

This ceremony is designed to help us reflect on exactly that.

 

Passing out the bread: Please take it and hold it, and we will eat it together.

The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed before he would be tortured to death, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; as you eat this, remember my sacrifice.

 

Please pray and remember, commit and when you are ready, eat.

 

Passing out the drink: Please take it, and hold it, and we will drink together.

In the same way, after the last meal Jesus would ever eat, he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, meaning we are entering into an era of Grace and forgiveness that could never be with out the death of our savior

 He said drink this, and whenever you drink it, remember me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

 

Please pray and remember, commit and when you are ready, eat.

 

 

If there is anybody here today who has committed themselves to God, or has re-committed themselves to God, please come to me after service so I can encourage you.

 

The People Vs. Jesus Christ

February 3, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 5:41-47, 2 Corinthians 5:10, James 5:19 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Witness to the Life

January 21, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 5: 31-40, Deuteronomy 19:15, Luke 8:21, Ephesians 2:8-10, 1 Peter 1: 14-16, Matthew 5:16, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Living The Life

January 14, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 5: 16-30, Daniel 12:2 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Building Dedication Ceremony

January 7, 2019 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: 2 Chronicles 6 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Deep End Of The Pool

December 30, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Chapter 2: 14-24, Romans 3:28, Ephesians 2: 8-9, Romans 10:9, Romans 4: 1-5, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Leadership Convention

Old Things Have Passed Away

December 29, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Isaiah 43: 18-19 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Jesus

December 22, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Proverbs 30: 1-6 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Characters of Christmas

Mary

December 15, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Luke 1: 46-48, Luke 1:38, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Characters of Christmas

Joseph

December 8, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Matthew 1: 18-19, Matthew 1: 24-25, Luke 2: 6-7, Luke 2: 13-23, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Characters of Christmas

Magi & The Shepherds

December 3, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Matthew 2: 1-12, Luke 2: 8-18 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Characters of Christmas

Angles of Christmas

November 24, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Hebrews 13:2, Luke 1: 11-20, Luke 1: 26-38, Matthew 1:20-25, Luke 2: 8-15, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Characters of Christmas

First day of the rest of your life

November 17, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 10:9, Romans 5:20 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Religion Vs Faith

November 10, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 5: 5-14, Exodus 20:8 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Pool of Bethesda

November 3, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 5: 1-14 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

The Church

October 27, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Hebrews 10: 24-25, Proverbs 27:17 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Who is a Pastor?

October 22, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Acts 15:22, 1 Timothy 5:17, James 5:14, Titus 1:5, 1 Peter 5:1-4, Ephesians 4:11-13, 1 Corinthians 9:16, James 3:1, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, 2 Corinthians 4:15, Acts 20:24, 2 Timothy 2:25, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:9, 2 Timothy 4:13 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Believe and you will see

September 29, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 4: 43-54 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Woman at the well

September 22, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 4: 1-42, Psalm 42:1, Isaiah 55:1, Jeremiah 2:13, Zechariah 13:1, Psalm 36:9, Jeremiah 17:13 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Leaders eat last

September 1, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 3: 22-30, Luke 14:11 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Salvation Missionaries

August 18, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 3: 16-21, Romans 5:8, James 2:19, Mark 8:36, Esther 4:14, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Nick at Night

August 7, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 3: 1-15 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Anger

July 28, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 2: 13-25 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Water Into Wine – Gary Baptism

July 7, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 2: 1-12 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Jesus Picks His Leaders

July 4, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 1: 35-51 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Baptism

June 1, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 1: 29-34 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

John the Baptist

May 22, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 1: 15-28 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Deity of Jesus

May 12, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: John 1: 1-14 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Gospel of John

Raise the dead to life

April 14, 2018 by CJ Counts

Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Easter

Giving First Fruits

March 11, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Matthew 10:8, Mark 12: 41-44, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Malachi 3: 8-10, 1 Chronicles 29:14, Luke 12:48, Luke 12:15, | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Finance

Why God, Have You Forsaken Me?

February 10, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: James 1: 2-4, John 16:33, Romans 8:28, Hebrews 12: 7-11 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Tower of Babel

January 21, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Genesis 11: 1-9 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Insecurity

January 13, 2018 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Genesis 32: 22-30 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Forgiveness

December 9, 2017 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Matthew 6: 14-15 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Prayer

November 11, 2017 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Jeremiah 33:3,1Timothy 2:1,8, Romans 10:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Daniel 10:10, Philippians 4:6, Hebrews 11:6, James 1:5, 1John 1:14-15, Romans 8:26 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Prayer

Jonah

December 31, 2017 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Jonah | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Faith without Works is Dead

November 11, 2017 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: James 2: 14-24 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Average Ordinary Men

November 11, 2017 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Acts 4:13 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Love the Lord and Read His Word

November 11, 2017 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Deuteronomy 6: 4-9 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

World at War

November 11, 2017 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Ephesians 6:10-20, John 14:27 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Prayer & Thanksgiving

November 11, 2017 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Philippians 4:6 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Thanksgiving

Sermon On The Mount

November 11, 2017 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Matthew 6, 1Corinthians 10:13, Ephesians 4:32, James 1:8, Philippians 4:6 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Pastor-Congregation Symbiosis

November 11, 2017 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: 1 Timothy 3: 1-7, Ephesians 4: 11 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Parable of the Sower

November 11, 2017 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Luke 8: 5-8, Luke 8: 11-15, Luke 8: 16-18 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Coming to Christ Vs Living for Christ

November 11, 2017 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: 2 Corinthians 13:5, 1John 1: 5-7, 1John 2: 3-4, 1John 2:15, 1John 2:28, 1John 5:3 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Fasting and Repentance – Lent

November 11, 2017 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Matthew 6: 16-18 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical | CJ was a guest speaker at a friends church in Thornton Co for this sermon.

Called to Serve

November 11, 2017 by CJ Counts

The Impact of Jesus on a Life

November 11, 2017 by CJ Counts

Bible Text: Acts 9: 1-18 | Preacher: Pastor CJ Counts | Series: Topical

Deny The Flesh

November 11, 2017 by CJ Counts

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