Renew EPC: Sermons

We can be a people that lives with complacency or lives with Christ, but not both. Two measures God lovingly takes to restore our devotion to Him: 1. He drains satisfaction from our self-pursuits (v. 5-6) “You never have enough” 2. He promises us the goodness of His presence (v. 7-8) "That I may be glorified." Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Why do you think becoming complacent is so easy an...

God renews His people by calling them to pursue Him first. 3 evidences that God is ready to renew: 1. He sustains his preserving grace 2. He supplies his providential care 3. He sends his prosecuting word Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Where have you experienced the Waiting Place? Why do you think the Waiting Place is so easy to fall into? 2. Read Lamentations 3:22 -23. What are some mercie...

Being filled with the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean I have more of the Spirit, but rather that the Spirit has more of me Discussion/Personal Reflection Questions: 1. What was a piece of advice you would like to give your younger self? 2. Share something from the sermon that spoke to you and why. 3. If you are willing, share an experience where you have felt filled by and controlled by the Holy Spirit....

What does true forgiveness look like? Outline: Forgiveness is costly Forgiveness is difficult Forgiveness is revealing Forgiveness is transforming. Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Does forgiveness come easily or difficult for you? Would you be able to forgive as quickly and completely as the Amish community did? Why or why not? 2. Can you think of a situation where you are continuing to harb...

How does the gospel transform us into evangelists? 1. The gospel becomes our purpose (vv. 12-20) “I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness” 2. The gospel becomes our passion (vv. 21-27) “For this reason the Jews seized me . . . and tried to kill me” 3. The gospel becomes our priority (vv. 28-29) “Whether short or long, I would to God that . . . all who hear...

Why is the way of confession better than the way of hiding our sin? Outline: The way of hiding vs. the way of confessing our sin… Four consequences to the way of hiding: Consequence 1: Deceit 2b in whose spirit is no deceit. Consequence 2: Discipline vv. 3-4 your hand was heavy on me Consequence 3: Dullness v. 9 Do not be like the horse or the mule Consequence 4: Disaster v. 6b the rising of the m...

Where will our glory hunger be satisfied? Outline: 3 reasons God Alone satisfies our glory hunger: 1.Because He alone is Glory (vv. 33) Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! 2.Because all glory belongs to God (v. 34-36a) For from him and through him and to him are all things. 3.Because He is worthy of all glory (v. 36b) To God be the glory forever, Amen. Questions for Person...

How does Grace Alone set us free from fear? Outline: Three truths about grace alone that secure us in the good news: I. We are saved wholly undeservedly (Eph 2:1-3) “. . . by nature children of wrath.” (v. 3) II. We are saved by God's determination (vv. 4-7) “But God, being rich in mercy . . .” (v. 4) III. We are saved entirely as a gift (vv. 8-10) “We are his workmanship” (v. 10) Personal Reflect...

What is saving faith? And how do good works help us know if we have it? Outline: How can we know we have saving faith? I. Saving faith convicts us (vv. 15-17) “He says he has faith, but does not have works” II. Saving faith changes us (vv. 18-19) “I will show you my faith by my works” III. Saving faith compels us (vv. 20-26) “Faith was completed by his works” Personal Reflection Questions: 1. What...

How can we know that we are saved? Discover the vital importance of knowing we are saved by faith alone. What does faith alone mean? 1. Good works don’t save (v. 5) 2. Faith is enough (v. 6-8) 3. We trust in Christ alone (vv. 9-11) 4. We have assurance of our salvation (vv. 12-13) Personal Reflection Questions: 1. Where do you see a drift from salvation by faith alone toward faith plus works in th...

You need Jesus, and once you have Jesus, you have all you need. Outline: Christ alone is necessary and sufficient for our salvation I. Why Christ Alone is necessary for salvation A. He is above all things B. His death covers all sins (20b) II. Why Christ alone is sufficient for our salvation A. As the perfect Prophet, He fully reveals God to us B. As the perfect Priest, He fully returns us to God....

Three reason we can have confidence in God’s Word 1. God speaks truthfully 2. God speaks clearly 3. The Holy Spirit confirms God’s Word Discussion/Personal Reflection Questions: 1. What does "Sola Scriptura" mean, and how does it shape your understanding of authority in the Christian life? 2. The movie scene from "Talladega Nights" is used to illustrate relativism. How do you see relativism influe...

How can we know the resurrection of Jesus is true? We can know its truth if we ask the question "What if it didn't happen?" Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. How might you engage someone who says: “it doesn’t matter whether my faith is ‘true’ as long as it helps me feel good and comforts me”? 2. The resurrection means Christianity is a faith that can be fact-checked. Do you think this aspect i...

The result of Genesis 3 is that we live in an upside-down world. Discover what is our only hope we have to navigate our fallen world. Personal Reflection Questions: 1. What happens to our view of the world if we believe Genesis 3 describes the way things always have been? 2. Which of the six consequences of the Fall is affecting you the most today? What will it mean for you when God removes this?...

What is the good news in our fear of blame? Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Do you have a memory of trying to get out of blame as a kid? How did it go? 2. Why do you think Adam received the most blame even though he was not the one who ate first? 3. Compare God’s command in Gen 2:16 -17 and Eve’s recollection of it in 3:1-2. How do the differences change the command? What lesson does this te...

What has broken our world? Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Read Psalm 73:2-5, 11-14. How do you see the slitheriness of sin in this passage? Consider: How is God’s goodness questioned? How is God’s judgment doubted? How is God’s Word judged? 2. Read 2 Timothy 4:3-4. In a world with internet algorithms, news stations, and social media designed to accumulate teachers who tell us what we want t...

God designed marriage to reflect His love to us. Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. If someone were to argue Genesis 2 is only about a similar partner not a complementary partner, how might you show from the text the importance of complementarity? 2. How can we (as a church, as individual Christians) better witness to our culture the goodness of Life-Making in marriage? 3. How does celibacy out...

Why do we live in a moral world? Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Share your favorite and least favorite responsibility in your life? 2. How might you use the existence of moral values to challenge the sufficiency of naturalism as a worldview? 3. What difference does it make to our faith to believe in a historical Eden and a historical Adam and Eve? 4. C.S. Lewis spoke of universal morals: “W...

Are God’s days of creation the same as our days? Questions for Personal Reflection 1. What’s the longest day you have worked? What were you doing? 2. How has the debate on the days of creation affected you? What issues make the “days of creation” so contentious? 3. The EPC motto is “In essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, in all things charity” a. How do you determine an essential from a no...

In a very good creation time is God-centered. Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Where are you feeling the pressure of time in your life? 2. Gandalf said, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is _____.’” Consider the blank filled with “ours” vs. “given us.” Which meaning more reflects your default view of time? Why do you think culture prefers us to view time as “ours”? How d...

Why do we desire things to be perfect? Questions for Personal Reflection: Share a time when you wanted something to be ‘just perfect.’ Why do you think your expectations were so high in this situation? As you reflect, do you see any connection between this situation and one of the five aspects of paradise? Of the five aspects of paradise, which one stirred your longing the most this morning? Why w...

What is our purpose? Questions for Personal Reflection 1. What are some ways you see our present culture struggle with a sense of purpose? 2. Consider the work that you do: How does it keep the world functioning and flourishing? How should this awareness affect the way we view our work? 3. Why do you think creation care has not been as much of a priority politically among evangelicals? 4. The US b...

What does it mean to be human?   Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Read Genesis 1:26 -27. What do you notice in the text that highlights the specialness of mankind? 2. How does the creation of mankind in the image of God speak against acts of discrimination based on human differences? 3. Read James 3:8-9. How do we dehumanize people with our words? What affect has disrespectful rhetoric had in...

What explains the fullness of reality that we experience? Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Why do you think our culture has adopted a fact/value split, i.e. a view that what is is real but whether it is good or bad is personal preference? 2. What are some of the difficulties you have had in the tension between understanding the world according to science vs. understanding the world according...

The same Spirit who works creation to completion, works in the believer.