Dr. Dennis Swanson, guest speaker

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Mark 4:35-41

On that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there *arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they *woke Him and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Jesus is present in the storms of life

Jesus shows his power over nature

Jesus is the amazing God

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Alex Morice, guest speaker.

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The Most Scary Way to Die . . . and How to Avoid It! – John 8:21-30

Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning? I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.

Introduction:

Review:
Theme: Three facts about the most scary way to die so you can avoid it
I. This death is inevitable for unrepentant sinners vv. 21-24

Two Facets of this Fate
1. It is certain in their present spiritual condition vv. 21-22
2. It is correlative to their natural earthly condition vv. 23-24a
II. The only way to avoid this death is to believe in Jesus vv. 24b-27
Three Obstacles to Faith
1. Ignorance of Who He is vv. 24b-25
2. Ignorance of their sinfulness vs. 26a
3. Ignorance of His relationship to God the Father vv. 26b-27
III. The reasons why only Jesus can save you from this death are self-evident vv. 28-29
Two Reasons for this Fact
1. His forthcoming death on the cross will reveal His true identity vs. 28a
2. His faithfulness to accomplish His Father’s will reveals His true purpose vv. 28b-29

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John 7:53 – 8:11[Everyone went to his home.

CHAPTER 8

The Adulterous Woman

​But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]

Principals we take away from this passage

1 – Adultry is a sin.

2 – The opponents of Jesus never let up.

3 – No one is without sin except Jesus

4 – The longer you live the greater awareness of sin you have

5 – The grace of forgiveness is only offered from Jesus Christ

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John 7:45-52

The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?” The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.” The Pharisees then answered them, “You have not also been led astray, have you? No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed.” Nicodemus (he who came to Him before, being one of them) *said to them, “Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” They answered him, “You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.”

Theme: Three aspects to observe about our Lord’s teaching
I. The teaching of Jesus was unprecedented vv. 45-46
II. The response of the leaders was unacceptable vv. 47-49
III. The challenge of his advocate was unwelcome vv. 50-52

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When Trust is Broken:

1 – Remain Gospel Centered – 1Corinthians 15:1-4

2 – Receive God’s forgiveness and grant it to others.

3 – Returns God’s Love and Grace to others.

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