First Baptist Church Lipan, TX

The Love of a Parent - Hosea 11 GOD DEALS WITH AND FEELS FOR HIS PEOPLE LIKE A PARENT FOR THEIR CHILD JUST LIKE A PARENT FOR A CHILD, GOD MUST DEAL WITH THE FRUSTRATIONS OF RAISING AN INDEPENDENT CHILD GOD’S BIGGEST FRUSTRATION IS KNOWING WHAT OUR FAILURES WILL BE AND ALLOWING US TO MAKE OUR MISTAKES

The Old Time Gospel - Hosea 3 Sin in our lives changes our position to be farther away from God When God came to buy our salvation, the price He paid was everything He had The only expectation God has for us after we accept His gift is to live in authentic relationship with Him God promises He will be faithful to us

Foolish Pursuits to Godly Promises - Hosea 2 WHEN WE PURSUE THINGS APART FROM GOD OUR PURSUITS ARE FOOLISH SOMETIMES OBSTACLES ARE THE THINGS GOD USES TO DIRECT US BACK TO HIM WHEN WE PURSUE ANYTHING INSTEAD OF GOD IT IS ALMOST ALWAYS BECAUSE OF PRIDE GOD SEEKS TO PERSUADE HIS CREATION INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM; HE DOESN’T FORCE A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM GOD PROMISES TO TAKE WHAT YOU HAVE RUINED...

A Scandalous Love - Hosea 1 GOD ENTERS A RELATIONSHIP WITH US KNOWING WE WILL BE UNFAITHFUL GOD DOESN’T LOVE US BECAUSE OF WHO WE ARE; HE LOVES US IN SPITE OF WHO WE ARE GOD’S LOVE FOR US IS A RAW LOVE GOD’S LOVE NEVER QUITS

Who is the Church? - 1 Peter 2:9-10 BEING A CHOSEN PEOPLE MEANS GOD HAS A PLAN FOR WHO WE ARE WE ARE CALLED TO BE PRIESTS IN THE WORLD IF PRIESTHOOD IS OUR FUNCTION, BEING A HOLY NATION IS OUR PURPOSE WE BELONG TO GOD - ALL WE ARE AND DO  SHOULD FIND ITS SOURCE IN HIM WE DO ALL OF THESE THINGS, WE ARE ALL OF THESE THINGS AS PROOF OF WHO JESUS IS IN OUR LIVES

The Song Remains the Same (The Church's Purpose) - Matthew 9:36-38 To fulfill our purpose we will have to have a heart like Jesus To fulfill our purpose we must recognize the need To fulfill our purpose we have to do the work People aren't doing the work We are the workers Jesus told the disciple to pray for

Why We Meet Together - Hebrews 10:25 Jesus Established the Church The Church is how God chooses to function most effectively in this world The Church provides a shelter in this age Christ loves the Church The Bible commands it

Present and Future Focused - Philippians 3:12-16 The church must be present and future focused You cannot move forward while looking toward the past You cannot influence the present living in the past You cannot see greater blessings God may have for you if you constantly want the older blessings

Becoming the Fellowship - Acts 2 :42-47 GOD’S WORD WAS AT THE CENTER OF THEIR LIVES THEY HAD A WORSHIPFUL ATTITUDE THEY LIVED LIFE TOGETHER THEY WERE COMMITTED TO GOD AND EACH OTHER THEY WERE CONTINUALLY PRAISING GOD

Childlike Faith - Matthew 18:1-4 Children know how to trust Children have love in abundance Children are forgiving Children are humble Children haven't lost their sense of wonder A child is expected to be obedient A child must grow The child will look like the Father A little child would always want to know his Father is close by Children are totally dependent on their parents

A New Year That Honors God - Ephesians 5:15-21 Be cautious because the days are evil Be thoughtful to understand God's will for your life Be thankful in everything because God loves you

Christ as Tabernacle - Exodus 25:8-9 EVERY PART OF THE TABERNACLE HELPED TO PAINT A PICTURE OF JESUS BOTH THE TABERNACLE & JESUS ARE GOD IN THE MIDST Courtyard - the Courtyard had one door to enter just as Jesus is the only way to God – only one way into the presence of God Brazen Altar - The place where the sacrifice was offered for sin as Jesus would become the sacrifice for sin Ba...

Christ as Bronze Serpent - Numbers 21:4-9 The situation we find ourselves in is of our own making Our situation places us in mortal danger We cannot solve our own issue - We cannot save ourselves God provides the source of salvation

Christ as the Rock -  Exodus 17:1-7 The provision they both give is vital for life The blessings both come from unlikely places To provide the blessing they both had to be struck They only had to be struck once

Christ in the Manna from Heaven - Exodus 16:13-35 Both Jesus and Manna Came from Heaven Both were similar to things they knew, but were also completely foreign Both are all sufficient within themselves They both are easily accessible Each individual is responsible for their own need Both point to future blessings

Christ in the Sacrificed Son - Genesis 22:1-19 They were both sons of promise that came from miraculous births They were unique sons loved by their fathers The place of sacrifice for both is Jerusalem They each were made to carry the wood on which they were to be sacrificed Just as Isaac was to take the place of the lamb for sacrifice, so Jesus became the "Lamb of God that takes away the...

 Careful What You Wish For - Numbers 11:4-20 God knows what you have and don't have God knows what I need better than I do Be thankful your needs are met Don't be a grumbler Take your desire to God rather than somebody else If you cannot do those three things, be careful what you wish for

Bring A Sword - Matthew 10:32-39 Acknowledgment of Jesus is not simply saying you know Jesus Denying Jesus isn't simply saying you don't believe The gospel will, by nature, be divisive Jesus should be the most important relationship in your life Following Jesus should be more important than you own life Trust God to give us what we have given up

Sin From The Start - Matthew 5:21-30 Sin begins in the heart Relationship is much more important than worship protocol It is better to lose that of highest importance to you than to let sin control your life Failure to control these sins calls our saving relationship into question

When You Are Persecuted - Matthew 5:10-12 We should not be shocked when our beliefs are challenged or even outlawed Following Jesus isn't going to be easy Our attitude in persecution should be that of Joy The only persecution that is blessed is a product of following Jesus in a righteous life We're not alone in our suffering 

Love Your Neighbor - Matthew 22:34-40 You must learn to love yourself You must define your neighbor You must define love These two commands are equal You show your total love for God by how you love your neighbor  Love is the lens through which everything else is viewed

A New Direction - Mark 8:22-26 Sometimes we go where God wants us through someone else's actions To bring us where He wants us to be, God must bring us out of where we were When God works in our lives it is often uncomfortable Jesus uses every situation to speak truth into our lives Don't go back!

Who Let The Dogs In - Matthew 15:21-28 When God is silent, we must not give up asking Him for our prayers Sometimes others will stand against our prayer and seek to keep us from God We must never treat those outside of God's flock worse than those inside God's flock We need to have the correct attitude toward the blessings of God

What's So Amazing About You? -  Mark 6:1-6   When God works through you, often those who know you best will not believe it  We may find discouragement rather than encouragement We must be careful not to let our flesh obscure the Christ within us God will only work in our lives to the extent we let him We must strive not to stand in the way of the work God wants to do What...

Whatever - Philippians 4:2-9 Believers must make a conscious choice to overcome negativity  To overcome negativity, we must have the correct frame of mind  To overcome negativity, believers should focus on:      whatever things have the character of truth      whatever things are worthy of reverence      whatever things are righteous   &n...