Jude 8-12 (NASB)

8 Yet in the same way these people also, dreaming, defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak abusively of angelic majesties. 9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him an abusive judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these people disparage all the things that they do not understand; and all the things that they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have given themselves up to the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. 12 These are the ones who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, like shepherds caring only for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted.

Theme: Believers in the Church must be on the lookout for what false teachers do and what they are like.

1. They Scorn Supernatural Beings (v. 8d-10)
2. They’re Marked by Murder, Money, and Mutiny (v. 11)
3. They Deceive to Destroy (v. 12a)

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Jude 5-8 (NASB)

5 Now I want to remind you, though you know everything once and for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And angels who did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling place, these He has kept in eternal restraints under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these angels indulged in sexual perversion and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

8 Yet in the same way these people also, dreaming, defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak abusively of angelic majesties.

Theme: Deceptive, immoral false teachers are headed for God’s eternal judgment, and true believers in the Church must be alerted not to follow or fall for them.

Three examples of arrogance and immorality that bring God’s wrath and condemnation.

1. Unbelieving Israel (v. 5)
2. Arrogant Angels (v. 6)
3. Sordid Sodomites (v. 7)

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Jude 1-4 (NASB)

1 Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,

To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into indecent behavior and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Sermon Theme: In light of immoral false teachers creeping into the Church, we as true Christians must earnestly contend for the faith found in God’s Word.

Outline:

Intro – Greetings & Benediction (vv. 1-2)

1. You are called to contend for the faith (v. 3)
2. Why you are called to contend for the faith (v. 4)

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guest speaker: Cyril Florita

Colossians 3:16–17 (NASB)

16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Theme:
In light of the Christian’s identity as a new man in Christ, we must wear our new set of garments—which are woven through with the word of Christ and are labeled with His name—so that His word would dwell in us richly and His name would rest on everything that we do.

2 Qualities of the Garments of the New Man:

1) Woven Through with the Word of Christ

Wisely Teaching and Admonishing One Another

Singing with Gratitude to the Father

2) Labeled with the Name of Christ

Proclaiming Christ in Every Word and Deed

Glorifying the Father

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Sermon Theme: What you truly believe regarding Jesus’s claims about Himself will determine where you will spend Eternity.

Jesus said:

1) I AM the Bread of life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51)

2) I AM the Light of the world (John 8:12)

3) I AM the Door of the sheep (John 10:7, 9)

4) I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14)

5) I AM the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)

6) I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6)

7) I AM the true Vine (John 15:1, 5)

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(All from the New American Standard Bible)

2 Corinthians 3:7-11

7 But if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones, came with glory so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness excel in glory. 10 For indeed what had glory in this case has no glory, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember.”

Romans 3:29, Romans 5:6

29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

2 Corinthians 3:6, 2 Corinthians 5:17

6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Theme: Understanding & applying the glory of the New Covenant

1) The Context – What was the Old Covenant?

2) The Promise & Inauguration – What is the New Covenant?

3) Why the New Covenant is Glorious for Sinners Today,

4) Why the New Covenant is Glorious for Believers Today,

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Theme: The Sabbath is a gift from God that points us to rest, worship, and trust, ultimately pointing us to Christ.

1) The Sabbath at Creation (Gen. 2:1-3)

2) The Sabbath became a covenant sign for Israel (Exod. 20:8-11; 31:12-17)

3) Jesus restored the true meaning of the Sabbath (Mk. 2:23-28)

4) Jesus is our ultimate Sabbath rest (Heb. 4:1-11; Matt. 11:28-30)

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All verse are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Genesis 2:1-3
1 And so the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their heavenly lights. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Exodus 20:8-11; 31:12-17
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 For six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 13 “Now as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You must keep My Sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 14 Therefore you are to keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it must be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15 For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. 16 So the sons of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a permanent covenant.’ 17 It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.”

Mark 2:23-28
23 And it happened that He was passing through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And He *said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry; 26 how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath.”

Hebrews 4:1-11
4 Therefore, we must fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also did; but the word they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united with those who listened with faith. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,

“As I swore in My anger,
They certainly shall not enter My rest,”

although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this passage, “They certainly shall not enter My rest.” 6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who previously had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 He again sets a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before,

“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. 9 Consequently, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. 11 Therefore let’s make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience.

Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”

Theme: The Sabbath is a gift from God that points us to rest, worship, and trust, ultimately pointing us to Christ.

1) The Sabbath at Creation (Genesis 2:1-3)

2) The Sabbath became a covenant sign for Israel (Exodus 20:8-11; 31:12-17)

3) Jesus restored the true meaning of the Sabbath (Mk. 2:23-28)

4) Jesus is our ultimate Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:1-11; Matthew 11:28-30)

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We must know and understand what God’s purpose is for our church, and together strive to excel in fulfilling that purpose for the glory of Christ.

The Fantastic 4-fold Purpose of the Local Church:

1) Be a Worshiping Body – Exalt the Lord

2) Be a Witnessing Body – Evangelize the Lost

3) Be a Walking Body – Edify the Saints

4) Be a Working Body – Equip the Saints

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Sermon by Cyril Florita

Colossians 3:14–15 (NASB95)

14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Theme/Proposition: In light of the Christian’s identity as a new man in Christ, you and I must put on the God-given garments of that new man.

Outline:

The Outer Garments of the New Man:

Garment of Love (v.14)
Garment of Peace (v.15a)
Garment of Thankfulness (v. 15b)

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