8:30am - Sunday Service - John Craft - 09192021

foreign oh is foreign uh now it we always hmm is ready well good morning church good morning how are y'all doing today oh it's so good to be together and uh invite you to come in find a seat and invite you to stand for the reading god's word i'd like to start this morning by reading from psalm 103. psalm 103 verses 1-5 it says this bless the lord o my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name bless the lord o my soul and forget not all his benefits who forgives all your iniquity who heals all your diseases who redeems your life from the pit who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy and who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagles let's worship him this morning [Music] one more time [Music] there's so much to be faked before [Music] he has done great things [Music] see what a savior has done see how his love overcomes he has done great things [Music] [Music] oh jesus [Music] me [Music] foreign [Music] amen you will do great things god you do great things [Music] [Music] oh [Music] hallelujah [Music] hallelujah [Music] hallelujah [Music] you have done [Music] you have a great day [Music] crazy this morning everything you are everything you've [Music] [Music] uh hello to those joining us via live stream i'd love to connect with you uh get on the chat this is jerry good morning you know what i noticed this morning you're happy people today you know and and usually when we think of rain and this we think of gloom and sorrow from it that's not the case this morning it's good to be in the house of lord this morning it's good to worship together it's good to enjoy a cup of coffee out in front of the coffee house if you didn't know we have the coffee house open every sunday and you may not know you may not be aware that our coffee shop actually helps support missions so rather than going and spending your money at dutch bros or at mcdonald's or at all those other coffee places come here get your good coffee it's really good coffee and it supports missions that's a free plug i wasn't asked to say that so i just thought i'd mention it hey it is september getting to be the end of september a lot of things going on we want you to be aware of we don't want you to miss out on anything so guys it's time men's breakfast is going to be starting back up with a work day on october 9th at 8 a.m here in the auditorium be aware of that come and join fellowship together study of god's word and then plan on working for a few hours so it is a good time so that is taking place on october 9th faith brummett we have a bridal shower for her the women's ministry is putting that on also on october 9th faith is one of our worship team members uh you probably know her she's been around a while but uh we want to congratulate her and they have a shower planned on october 9th also from one to three out on the patio so come for that and then we have something new it's called epic don't you like that word epic epic is uh it's it's oh shoot i'm the one who wrote it experienced people in christ this is bad you know you've been around for a while when you designed something and then you can't remember what it was but yeah i'm getting old i certainly am speaking of old epic is taking the place of pep so uh as we begin to look at the fall and different opportunities we're gonna have a luncheon coming up on the 14th of october that's a thursday from 11 30 till whenever we get done but we're gonna have a soup salad and sing so we would love to have you come be a part of that you know it's i i don't like the word senior for some reason i just i guess because i are one uh but we're gonna have a good time to uh fellowshipping together and having a lunch together i do need you to sign up there's a sign up sheet out on the information desk uh we need to know how many people are coming so we can plan ahead but we would love to have you be a part of that one of the other ministries that is starting up many of them are starting up this fall and that's our life groups uh if you've never been involved in a life group but you really would like to um we would really encourage you you can go online and sign up there for it you can call the church office get more information there and so a lot of things going on isn't that great praise the lord let's open a word of prayer and we'll continue our worship god you are so good we thank you for the rain this is such an answered prayer and lord we don't want to be greedy but lord we need more and uh we continue to pray for that we thank you for the refreshing that the rain brings and lord this morning as we lift up our voices together as we open our bibles together father may we be refreshed by your holy spirit as well as we come and we study your word as we join our hearts together to worship the king of kings and lord of lords we love you lord in jesus name amen amen thank you jerry and let's continue to read from psalm 103 as we as we worship starting in verse 10 it says he does not deal with us according to our sins nor repay us according to our iniquities for as high as the heavens are above the earth so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him as far as the east is from the west so far does he remove our transgressions from us as a father shows compassion to his children so the lord shows compassion to those who fear him for he knows our frame he remembers that we are dust let's worship him together [Music] feel comfortable [Music] beneath [Music] my shade [Music] who could carry that kind of way [Music] i was breathing but [Music] it was [Music] that rain [Music] out of the darkness into your flurries [Music] [Music] out of the darkness into your glorious day [Music] for your freedom oh your freedom is all and i know the only jesus [Music] out of the darkness [Music] [Music] out of the darkness into your glorious day [Music] [Applause] [Music] now your love is [Music] cause when you call my day [Music] out of the darkness [Music] [Music] [Applause] out of the darkness into your glorious day one day [Music] amen psalm 103 starting in verse 15. as for man as for man his days are like grass he flourishes like a flower of the field for the wind passes over it and it is gone and its place knows it no more but the steadfast love of the lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him and his righteousness to children's children to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments the lord has established his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over them all let's continue to worship our amazing lord [Music] [Music] a sea without bottom for sure our sins the young man he is lord praise the lord [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] stronger [Music] is [Music] what reaches of kindness he loves us his god was [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] ah please have a seat oh good morning there's a painting in my living room and it's a picture of the of old jerusalem and the wall temple i think about it from time to time when it what it must have looked like 2 000 years ago and during passover particularly and so i going to invite you to kind of join me in this standing at a distance and watching what's going on at the conclusion of the passover meal christ and the disciples they leave the upper room and they exit probably to the east out of one of the many gates from the wall temple or from the wall and they walk across a small ravine now this some expositors feel like that stream may have run red because it ran right beside the temple itself which is right above that and where the sacrifice of thousands of animals are taking place so that blood is seeping down into this uh little ravine as they walk down through the valley of kidron kidron valley on their way to mount aldis i would imagine the apostles are probably chatting among themselves about what had taken place during the supper jesus had totally changed the meaning of the bread and the wine that they had shared together peter in his own way had promised jesus to defend him to his death but christ told him that peter just in a few hours he would deny him three times even before sunrise jesus had prayed for himself he had prayed for the apostles and he had prayed for you and me he told them that he would soon be leaving and this is an awful lot for them to take on at this time they didn't really they're a bit confused they couldn't grasp exactly what it was and they couldn't uh understand what was about to take place jesus said in his prayer in 1701 john 17 1 he said father the time has come glorify your son that your son may glorify you as they climbed up out of the valley and entered the garden of gethsemane jesus left some of the disciples outside to wait and as he went further inside the garden with peter james and john he told him to also wait for him and he went into deeper into the garden the bible says a stone's throw so he could pray what the disciples didn't realize was that shortly christ was about to be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver he would be arrested he was going to be flogged without mercy he was going to be humiliated a crown of thorns is going to be thrust upon his head he's going to be subjected to multiple illegal and contrived trials and ultimately who's going to be crustified crucified as a common criminal as he hung there darkness fell across the land the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom and christ calls out to his father my god my god why have you forsaken me and then in his final breath he says it is finished and the sins of all mankind has been covered his body and blood has paid our unpayable debt his resurrection would be the final defeat of death itself hallelujah he has risen this tiny little wafer in this little container represent that redeeming payment for us it represents his death his burial and his resurrection join me little container represents the blood that christ shed upon the cross for us holy father what can we say we thank you for the love you've shown us at this time and always how gracious you are to us and father thank you for the ultimate sacrifice that you gave as your son we want to honor you this day with this time and give you all the praise and glory in jesus name amen thank you jim the end of psalm 103 bless the lord o you his angels you mighty ones who do his word obeying the voice of his word bless the lord all his hosts his ministers who do his will bless the lord all his works in all places of his dominion bless the lord o my soul and let's continue to focus on jesus and what he accomplished for you and for me on the cross [Music] i cast my mind [Music] his hands his feet [Music] [Music] oh praise the name of the lord our god who praises his name forever [Music] [Music] [Music] again [Music] [Music] o praise his day forever [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] the blazing sun [Music] [Applause] [Music] on jesus [Music] foreign [Music] see your praise oh praises [Music] of the lord [Music] foreign [Music] uh good morning church it is so good to be together worshiping today as we focus on our great god and savior my name is john i'm one of the pastors here at reading christian fellowship thank you for joining us if you're here and you're visiting uh we're just super glad that you chose to come and spend time with us and so if you wouldn't mind we'd just love to know that you're here there's a connection card maybe in a chair back near you or you can fill one out online at rcfellowship.org and those of you join us joining us on live stream super awesome to have you here if you're watching this sometime later on we still pray that as we open the word together that you are impacted by the truth of what we hear this morning and speaking of that we're going to be in colossians chapter one colossians chapter one you uh if you have a bible you can turn there we will be there for the morning i just have to tell you as i walked into church i had a very scary moment because i saw one of our elders and i said hey and i started walking over to him and he looked at me he's like i am in a bad mood when one of your elders says that and you're the lead pastor you're like i think i hear someone calling me so i went over and i was like well what's going on and i'm getting ready for the bad news and he said i was up late last night which is never a good way to start a conversation about being in a bad mood he said and in the last 20 seconds fresno state through a touchdown pass and beat ucla it's like so you're saying i still have a job but then i said you know you could be an arizona fan and they have lost 15 games in a row the nation's longest losing streak which is a matter of fasting and prayer so we've got much more important stuff to do i i this i i can't wait to dive here into colossians chapter one we're going to look at verses one through eight as we see paul begin this incredible book before we dive into this i'm gonna take a moment i'm gonna pray for us and then we'll get right to work so let's pray father we thank you so much for your goodness for your graciousness we thank you that you are the god in whom we have incredible and complete hope so father i pray that as we look at this passage together god that he that you would reveal to us through the the ministry of your word and your spirit in our lives this morning that that we would understand what it means to have hope and then to live that out god i pray that you would take me this morning as uh as the preacher the the speaker the communicator and that you'd fill me with your spirit and empower me to speak to your people because god these are times in which we desperately need hope and as your people those around us desperately need us to live out that hope so god give us a clear understanding give us soft hearts and spirits as we open your word together in jesus name amen amen god has been doing some really remarkable things here at reading christian fellowship and i just want to detail highlight a few of those for just a moment as we open the word as we get into the message this morning yesterday there was an incredible event that took place a women's half day conference called better together i was kind of collaborated and directed by connie spooner who's going to hate that i just pointed her out but connie did an an amazing job her women's ministry council did such a fabulous work yesterday we had well over a hundred women who registered and who were here as we thought about being better together and not just being better together the fact that we are better together but i love one thing that the speaker did which was turned that on its head and said we need to be together better that we need to think how we love and encourage each other more and more and so that was an incredible thing that god did right in this room yesterday we have uh over a hundred women signed up for women's bible studies we've got men's ministry that's kicking off with a breakfast and then serving the church men's groups that are starting to gather together life groups that are beginning to uh to come together at the relaunch of pep uh now called epic as we gather together and we sing and we think about the goodness of god that's something that was really amazing when the youth went to the church that lori and i served way back at the beginning of our ministry started there in 1992 caleb took a group of students there he came back and he said john that was the best mission trip i've ever led seeing god work in incredible ways we've seen people step into new areas of ministry and leadership we've seen god's people give faithfully and i want to take just a moment and say thank you so much for your giving for your support for for your participation in god's work and as we kind of wrap up our fiscal year here in september we are so thankful for the way that god has provided through the faithfulness of his people that we need to continue to think about how we are a part of what god is doing and so as we look at this and we look at the things that are starting to happen starting to ramp up as we continue to move into the fall as we move into a new season of ministry while we are excited about what god has been doing and what he will continue to do here at reading christian fellowship we need to keep our focus on the right thing we need to keep our focus in the right spot and that is that is communicated to us by paul as he begins this incredible letter to the church at colossae again we said yesterday last week one of the commentators on this passage on this book said that colossae was maybe the the most insignificant church that paul wrote to it's a small church in a small struggling city and yet paul has incredible things to say about the work of god in colossae and this is how he starts in colossians chapter one verses one through three he says paul an apostle of christ jesus by the will of god and timothy our brother to the saints and faithful brothers and again this is all the people of the church so saints and faithful brothers first of all faithful brothers you can translate faithful brothers and sisters it's talking about the congregation at colossae saints these are not special additional people like you have the faithful brothers and then like a notch above them or the saints that's not what you see these are the same people saints those who are called out according to god's purposes faithful brothers those who are living out in their calling so these are the same group of people this is talking about the church in the saints and faithful brothers in christ at colossae grace to you and peace from god our father we always thank god the father of our lord jesus christ when we pray for you we always thank god i always thank god for you as paul is writing this he is not simply just writing hey you're doing a good job hey attaboy you know what keep it up good work this is not like just a commendation that paul is writing he's talking about what god has been doing we'll see that as we unpack this a little bit further as we get further into colossians chapter one but ultimately he's pointing to the one who is really doing the work that as he looks at what's going on in colossae yes he thinks about the saints and the faithful brothers but as he thinks about the work that's going on what is he doing he's thanking god because god is the one who is doing the work and he is reminding the saints and the faithful brothers in christ at colossae he is reminding them that while god is doing the work he uses people to do it and he uses people to do it in a real location at a real time because he says to the saints and faithful brothers in christ at colossae and as we said last week we see he says to the saints and faithful brothers in christ at colossae that they are in christ that they've been redeemed they are they are immersed in jesus everything that they are is encompassed in him but everything they are is encompassed in him as they live like their actual life at colosse which we should hope that at some point we could get a letter that would talk about you and me as being the saints and faithful brothers in christ at reading that we are following jesus and we are deserving him and loving people here in reading and so it's paul as he begins this incredible book he is commending the colossians for their part in god's work and as he is doing that he gives ultimately the basis for that work and then he talks about the results of that of that basis the results of that foundation we see that in in colossians chapter one starting in verse four paul writes we heard of your faith in christ jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints because of the hope laid up for you in heaven paul says we have we have heard about you now we don't know how paul heard about it it could have been through epaphras who traveled to rome it could have been from other churches who are communicating to paul as he is in rome in prison as he writes this book but he is he's saying we have we have heard about what god is doing in your life we have heard about what god is doing in your church we have heard about the way that you have faith in god you have love for all the saints and it's rooted and based in hope so we're gonna actually start at the tail end of this passage and then talk about what came before it because as we look we see paul identified two characteristics that we see in the colossians we see faith your faith in christ jesus and the love that you have and he says these are the outworkings that you have and you have faith and you have love because because the root of that because of the hope laid up for you and so as we look at that we are going to see that hope can lead to faith and love paul talks about the colossians faith and love but he says they have them because of their hope the hope so as we walk through this passage we really should be asking ourselves the question how can hope help you have more love and faith how can hope help you to have more love and faith two thoughts this morning and then and out working this morning as we look at this the first thought the first way that we see that hope can help us to have more love and more faith is that hope makes you brave hope makes you brave it's kind of a bold statement hope makes you brave so we should ask the question does hope really make you brave i just have to tell you this statement hope makes you brave comes from a really like very very spiritual spot lori saw it written on a coffee mug and it did two things one it led to a really good discussion between laurie and me about hope and hope making you brave and secondly it reminded me that really good stuff comes from coffee mugs hope makes you brave and as we discuss this i i kind of landed on the thought that yes hope does make you brave hope does make you brave when you believe that there is something better ahead when you have hope that there's a better outcome when you have hope that there's a better possibility that it's out there you are more willing to take a risk you are more willing to be sacrificial you are more willing to step out in faith you're more willing how to show love when you hope that there's something better ahead hope makes you brave hope leads to bravery because you know something better is possible sometimes you might know if it's certain sometimes you might know what it is but if you don't think there's anything better you won't take any risk but because there's something better possible you can act you will act differently and paul gives us a specific example of what this hope is paul points us to the source of our hope in first corinthians or sorry in colossians chapter 1 verse 4 paul talks about the hope laid up for you in heaven the hope laid up for you in heaven we can have hope and be brave because heaven is real now when you think about heaven what do you think about what do you think of do you think of like clouds super serene uh people in like white robes playing little harps a little halo over their head maybe you think of something you saw on tv there's a show called the good place if you've seen that you know you go to the good place and it's like if you want ice cream boom there it is you're like wow this must be heaven is that is that your thought of heaven because if that is let me tell you so as a pastor right now what i'm trying to do is think of a really kind and gentle way to tell you you're wrong because that's not the scripture's depiction of heaven in fact as you read through the new testament most of the time as we look at heaven we're looking at the abode the dwelling place of god we're looking at his kingdom we're looking at the the spiritual reality that we can't see when we think about heaven and the place where our hope is ultimately what we see is that heaven is the unseen kingdom where god reigns in contrast to the seen kingdom that is ruled by selfishness and pride the unseen kingdom where god reigns where he is in control where everything is focused on him versus the seen kingdom that you and i kind of move and live and breathe in where everything seems to be ruled by selfishness and pride and it's so easy for us to look at everything going on around us and to use the good old texas phrase yeah all y'all are filled with selfishness and pride all you all are and forget that all y'all includes me so we look to see where our hope actually is because if our hope is in this seen kingdom that's ruled by selfishness and pride and we're looking to earthly institutions for our hope that's not hope instead we look to the unseen kingdom where god dwells and we realize that someday the unseen kingdom will be the only kingdom because this world ultimately comes to an end and god sets all of the wrongs right and the dwelling place of man shall be with god and we look and we say that that is what we can hope in and that happens because of the gospel that's why we can put our hope there paul as he writes in colossians chapter 1 verse 5 he says of this you have heard before in the word of truth the gospel which has come to you as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing the gospel the gospel is the fact that there is real sin in the world that god created something perfect and then man through sinful choices broke it and now god is in the business he is at work redeeming broken man by defeating sin and death in the death of jesus on the cross making payment for that sin and then as he is redeeming men and one day we recognize our redemption completely and fully when this world comes to an end and we step into the next then we see that all of creation rejoices because they are it is set free from the bondage that that we have been held in as well that god is taking his broken creation and making it new through defeating sin and through giving new life that is our hope the hope in the unseen kingdom but paul notices the colossians and their faith and their love based in hope and he does it because their faith and love motivated by hope changed the way that they lived their life the same thing is true for you and me today that your hope for the future should change your life today when you look and you say you know someday i'm gonna go to heaven someday because i trusted christ as my savior i placed my faith in his death burial and resurrection i believed that it was sufficient to pay for the wrong that i did that jesus bore my sins in his body and because i have trusted in that i'm going to go to heaven if that is what you're thinking that i trusted here and now all i have to do is wait it out kind of run out the clock until i get to heaven that's just escapism we need to realize that the hope for the future changes our lives today there's a pastor in the bay area named ray steadman who had just an incredible statement on this eye he said if all the gospel offers to christians is that they will go to heaven when they die they may well if this may well make them content with their lot on earth like they may be like yeah all right i can i can like wait it out i can i can just spend my time here and then get to heaven but it does nothing to correct or improve their conditions our hope in the future should change our lives today and that happens because hope makes you brave and when hope makes you brave you can look out sorry you can look up and you can look out when who makes you brave you can look up and look out because when you look at the unseen kingdom rather than the seen kingdom that's ruled by selfishness and pride when you look to god in your hope you can focus on him and on the people around you so hope makes you brave because you can look up you can look up colossians chapter 1 verse 4 says we heard of your faith in christ we heard of your faith in christ now when you're brave you look up in faith you have faith that god is showing up in your life that he is coming and he's using your efforts he is coming and bringing you peace he's coming and he's bringing you purpose he is coming and bringing you new life and new hope and as we look at this statement of faith this isn't just about when you came to faith in christ you know we love love those amazing testimonies someone will stand up they'll say you know i was into it all i was into drugs i was into women i ran with gangs and in crime and then when i turned five i came to christ they're like oh wow and we just look back it's important to look back and think of what god has done where you've come from and that god has redeemed you and changed you but when paul talks about faith in christ he's not simply talking about this moment that's back here where you place your faith in the death burial resurrection of jesus it is a faith that is ongoing it's a faith that is active it's a faith that that where this moment is just the beginning and then it impacts you all throughout your life because this faith was noticeable paul wrote that he had heard about it now maybe from apaches maybe from other churches but even more than that not only was it noticeable but it was noticeable because their faith they're looking up in their hope and making them brave so they focus more on god than on themselves it was noticeable and it bore fruit it produced things in their lives and in the lives of the people around them paul writes in colossians chapter 1 verse 6 it is bearing fruit and increasing as it also does among you since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of god in truth so how how are you looking up how is your faith being lived out how are you living your life differently in in making the brave choices that you need to because you have hope and because you have hope for it that's based in heaven you're looking up to god how's your faith making your life different today do you make different decisions do you make different decisions than either you used to or someone who doesn't know jesus do you make different decisions do you treat people with more love and more grace do you love your spouse more because you have been changed by jesus do you have good spiritual conversations with people who need jesus how is your faith being lived out how is your faith showing that you are looking up to god you're focused on him and it's changing you today because as you live this change out you will bear fruit and glorify and honor god so when we are brave we look up and when we're brave because of hope we look out we look out paul writes about the colossians he says we heard of your faith in christ jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints so here's the second way that their bravery because of hope is is being displayed they look and focus on god and then they look out and they display love for others because when you're brave you look out in love because you're thinking of others instead of yourself which can be scary it's scary to actually love someone why because what if they don't take care of you like if you step out and you show love and you care for other people what if they don't reciprocate that's a scary thought what if they ignore you i'll tell you what that really hurts when you reach out and you show love to someone and then you're ghosted and it's just completely unreciprocated and you just are ignored man that's painful what are you going to get out of it sometimes that question kind of runs through our minds when we're thinking about stepping out in love and that's why we need the hope in the unseen kingdom where god is in control so that we are brave and take the risk to step out in love and that happens is we hope because love is the natural outworking of your act of hope uh the author uh josh mcdowell gave i think just one of the one of the simplest like working definitions of love josh mcdowell said love is wanting for something else what you would want for yourself and then acting on that desire wanting for someone else what you would want for yourself do you want do you want grace and forgiveness from other people love is displaying grace and forgiveness to the people around you do you do you want to be blessed do you want to be treated as a brother or sister in christ if that's your desire love is wanting that for the people around you and then acting out on that love and that and that's possible as we are brave because of the hope that we have because as you look at colossians chapter 1 and we see paul begin this and he's talking about the incredible things that god has been doing in the church at colossae i think we see that hope makes you brave and that as you have hope and you are brave you look up you look up to see god you look up in faith and and you live that faith out actively and as you live that faith how actively you look out in love and as you do that as you are brave because of the hope that you have and because of the faith and the love that you display then people will say you know i thank god every time i pray for you because i see what god is doing in your life do you have hope do you have hope in the unseen kingdom let that hope make you brave and then live in faith and live in love let's stand together this morning as we wrap up with the word of prayer and as as we pray somebody in the room may be wrestling maybe wrestling with where you have been placing your hope lately wrestling with not having an active faith that's impacting you in your decisions and you're facing something and and you don't you're you're not certain that you're gonna take the right step or you've been struggling with showing love to your brothers or sisters in christ we'll have some people here at the front we we would love to pray for you to stand with you and praise your brothers and sisters in christ and as we pray we're going to be like paul and thank god for you because we know that god's going to do incredible things in your life as you have hope that makes you brave so you can look up and look out father we thank you for the hope that we can have the the hope that we have that is laid up for us in heaven that yes at some point we don't know when everything is made new everything is made right and we stand before you worshiping you in perfection for all of eternity and yet father i would pray that you'd help us to not be people who simply just waited out who run out the clock who who are here saying yes i trusted in christ 30 years ago and now i'm just waiting to get out of here and go to heaven but that god that that hope would help us to make the brave choices to live in faith and to live and love the father that as your people here at reading christian fellowship specifically do that that god that there would be people who would say man i thank god every time i pray for you because i've heard about what god is doing in your life father for someone in the room who's wrestling or struggling with what a next step would be for someone who's watching online who is thinking i don't i don't know if i have the courage to take a step of love god i pray that you would empower them through your spirit to take that next step to do what it takes to live out the hope laid up for them in heaven father thank you for this time thank you for jesus and it's in his name that we pray these things amen amen everyone we have one last act of worship this morning which is to give our offering and you can do that you can do that either on your way out or online at rcfellowship.org everyone thanks for being here have a great rest of your rainy and cool weekend you

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Length: 72min 18sec (4338 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 19 2021