Connection Church Spearfish

#RichInChrist

“When tribulation comes, Christians, remember this promise. You're gonna be persecuted. You're gonna be slandered. You're gonna possibly be thrown in prison some way, even have their lives taken, but you are rich. You're holy, you are blameless, you've been adopted into God's family, you're redeemed, your sins are forgiven, you have an inheritance, you have hope, you've been saved by the gospel, you've been sealed by the spirit, you're guaranteed the eternal salvation with the savior. You and I are rich.”

#LoveLikeJesus

“We can labor hard for Christ. We can be loyal for Christ. We can have a high standard for holy living for Christ. We can defend and stand firm on the sound doctrine of Christ. We can carry on church discipline in the name of Christ. We can gather for worship for Christ. We can preach the word of Christ. We can evangelize the lost in the name of Christ. We can, like workers on the field, labor until we sweat with exhaustion in the name of Jesus. But we gotta understand Jesus doesn't just want our labor, he wants our love. He wants us to serve him not out of obligation but about of affection. One pastor said it not only matters to Jesus what we do for his name, it matters why we do what we do for his name. Faithfulness to Christ must flow from a genuine love for Christ.”

#SufferingProducesStrength

“The word of God tells us that Jesus uses suffering to produce endurance and character and hope. He uses it to produce maturity in us in the present. So when we face tribulation, remember the all knowing Jesus is present with us. He knew it was coming before it came to us. He knows the outcome of it. He knows what he's doing, and he knows best.”

#RepentAndBelieve

“If you're a Christian who's been living an unholy, sin filled life, walking in disobedience to Christ, if you're a Christian who's sinning in your marriage, at work, at home, if you're Christian who's living for this world, John wants you to hear loud and clear, Jesus is already on the way. You really want him to find you living that way? No. John's message is the message of the Bible. If you're living in sin, may godly grief over your sin rise up within and lead you to repentance. I implore you to repent.”

#ResurrectionHope

“I mean, death's coming to us all. Right? It may come by sickness. You may get to grow old in age, but you will die. It may come by persecution. It may come by tribulation. But though you and I may die, we have the promise of resurrection through the one who is the first born of the dead. Tell me that doesn't comfort and encourage you. You can have a peace even staring death in the eyes. He's got no sting at all. All because he is the firstborn of the dead. He is preeminent in his resurrection.”

#JesusIsComing

“Chapter one does nothing but exalt our savior. It refers to him as a faithful witness. The firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth, the alpha, the omega, the beginning and the end. The one who is, who was, and who is to come. The first and the last. The second chapter continues exalting Jesus, and in the rest of the book, we see him as the head of the church. The one who comes and conquers the enemy. The one who's coming as judge. The one who's coming for his church. The one whom his church will enjoy for all eternity in a new creation. From beginning to end, Revelation exalts King Jesus who is coming for his bride. It's all about him.”

#JesusIsEnough

“He wants them to see this is more than a physical issue, it's a heart issue. Anxiety, worries, fears over this world reveal there's a problem with our heart. The disciples' heart should be with Christ who has given us his kingdom. He should be our treasure. And the same is true in our lives. Right? Our treasure should be Jesus. He should be enough.”

#NextGenNeedsSalvation

“This Psalm shows us we do this because there's an issue with man in the heart. There's an issue with man's heart. Israel knew what god commanded, yet they still chose to rebel against God. They chose, hey, I know what you did, but I'm gonna I'm gonna go my own way. There's a man centered issue. There's something wrong with man's heart. I'm gonna tell you this, and there's one thing you get for today. I hope it's this. The next generation's greatest need is regeneration. It needs salvation. The next generation needs Jesus Christ just like we did, just like we do, just like we will always need. We need Jesus. We need his salvation.”

#LovePouredOut

“Right? You can't be guilted righteousness. You can try all you want, but you're gonna wear yourself out. All of it must come from a deep love and worship and devotion, And love is is meant to flow You see it in our story. Love flowed from this woman's heart because love was poured into this woman's heart. She knew Jesus loved her enough to forgive her of her sins. It was poured into her heart and that is what came out of her.”

#LoveRefusesFalseTeaching

“But here's the thing, the most unloving thing a Christian can do is help support a false teacher, promote their false teachings. This is why our love must be confined or limited. It's not that we stop wanting to see these people saved. In fact, it's because we love them and love others that we don't support them spreading their false teachings. Biblical love doesn't mean approving everything someone teaches. Sometimes loving someone means refusing to participate in what's destroying them and could lead others astray.”

#CertaintyInChrist

“``Now I'm a realist. I know that uncertainty is all around us, I'm also a rejoicer in a world of uncertainty. I do not know what tomorrow holds. I do not know if I'll make it out of this day alive. I don't know the next temptation that's coming around the corner. I don't know how every situation is gonna turn out. But greater than my uncertainty, I have this certainty. A certainty that is grounded in the promises of God. A certainty that fills my joy. It it completes my joy. And that certainty is this. We are believing in the name of the son of God, we have eternal life. We have answered prayers, and we have victory over sin all through the true God and eternal life, Jesus Christ. If you're believing in him, all these certainties belong to you.”

#SavedByHisWork

“Till one day, God allowed the truth to sink in. You are saved not because of you. You are saved because of what my son has done for you, and you are trusting in him and his work. He's the son of God who gives salvation. If you're believing in him, know with certainty that you're saved. If you don't have this testimony in you, if you don't believe in the testimony of God, listen to the warning, those who do not believe in the name of the son of God do not have eternal life. He who does not have the son of God doesn't have life.”

#HeartOverRitual

“You see, God is after our hearts. He is not after empty ritual. He does not want your church attendance. He does not want you to be like, wow, I scored a 100% on my bible reading plan. If your heart is far from him, it doesn't matter how many times you appear at church. It doesn't matter how many times you go on your knees to pray to God. It doesn't matter any of those things if your heart is not his. Guys, we have we have to see that to be a Christian, a proof of you being a Christian is your heart's delight is in Jesus Christ, not anything else. And guess what? From the fruit of that, it will not be begrudging obedience, it will be loving obedience.”

#GospelSaves

“No amount of homes, no amount of food, drink, or clothing is ever going to save a person from eternal hell. It is good to meet physical needs, but the greatest need in our world today is a spiritual one. People need to have their broken relationship with God restored. They need their sins forgiven. They need salvation. And, salvation comes only through one message and that message is the gospel. It is the power of salvation to everyone who believes. But for people to be saved by that gospel, they must hear that gospel. To hear that gospel, we must be preaching that gospel. And for that gospel to be preached, we must be sending people. Jesus sent 72 to preach it. He sent us to preach it.”

#UndeservedGrace

“``When you think about it, we don't deserve his love. We're we're not owed it, but he graciously demonstrated it. Verse 10, in this is love. There it is again. What? Before he points to it, he says, not that we have loved God. I think sometimes we skip over these verses, like read through it so quickly and we miss the facts. So the motivation behind God's love was not because we loved him first, because we didn't. We were rebelling against him. It says, not that we've loved God. And even Romans confirms this. While we were still sinners, God demonstrated his love for us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

#TestAgainstScripture

“If it doesn't arise if it doesn't arise from the word of God and agree completely with the word of God, then it didn't come from the apostles. Don't trust it because the spirit behind it, not God. By this, we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Christians, we are exposed to two sorts of teachers and teachings daily that have two different sources behind them. Some are from God, some are not. John's message to the church then was one of pastoral care, wanting to spiritually protect those Christians. That that is my heart for you, to spiritually protect you. And and it sounds kinda funny for a pastor to say, check every sermon you ever hear hear preached, mine included. If any pastor is too proud to say that, they shouldn't be in the pulpit in the first place. The authority doesn't rest in me, it rests in the word of God. So test it.”

#GodIsCertain

“``Our conscience might say to us, you can't be certain that you belong to him. I don't know if I'm saved. John says, you don't feel like you're saved, when you don't feel like you know if you're saved, trust in the one who knows. So there might be uncertainty in us, but there is never uncertainty in God.”

#ThornySoil

“The thorny soil represents those who want Jesus as savior, but they don't want him as Lord. The thorny soil represents the person who wants Jesus as savior, but they don't wanna give up their sin. Thorny soil represents the person who want Jesus as long as the promise is they'll receive health and wealth. But if it costs them the help or their wealth for following him, they don't want anything to do with him. They love the world. They love the pleasures of life, but they don't love Jesus.”

#SatisfiedInChrist

“Things of this world, they will fail you. They will leave you dissatisfied. But Christ, his love is unfailing. He'll satisfy your soul. If you'll drink from him, you'll never thirst again. If you eat from the bread of life, you'll never hunger again. There's no promise in the Bible that you will not suffer in this life, but there is a promise that if you'll turn from your sin and believe in Jesus for your salvation, you'll enjoy his enduring presence and his excellent love for all of eternity. Your soul will be satisfied, and a person who loves God is totally satisfied in him.”

#DontHateChristians

“``To Jesus, an attitude of hate in your heart is equivalent to murder, and it is not an attribute of a Christian. To the Christians in Asia Minor, to the Christians in every time John is saying to us, don't be like Cain, don't hate your brother. If he were to write this letter today, he would say, don't hate other Christians. Why? Because they're your brothers. They're your family. Don't hate them because hatred of Christians is the mark of the children of the devil.”

#ProtectBiblicalTruth

“They're no longer just trying to say it's okay for you to sin because it doesn't affect your spirit. What they're saying today is that's not a sin anymore. They're taking God's word. They're taking poor hermeneutic practices and twisting the context and trying to take things that God has always called sin and now say, no, it's not a sin anymore. In doing so, what they're doing is telling you it's okay to practice these unrighteous things like homosexual behavior, transgender lifestyles, abortion, all sorts of things. They're just twisting things and saying, oh, yay, it's okay to do these.”

#LookUpNotDown

“Then I thought, man, how do Christians need to approach this? How do we need to walk through this broken, dangerous world? Are we supposed to cower with fear? No. We're supposed to have a confident faith. Because better than the security of a safety net below the section of a construction zone, we have a sovereign God who is our security. This morning, I want to remind you to step in and look up every day as you step into this world. Look up my friends and see your God because it is only in him that you will find a confident faith to face today.”

#ActionsRevealFaith

“``How one expresses whether they're born of God or born of the devil is by their actions because their actions show who they're imitating. See, when John's not saying we're saved by the things we do. We're saved by Christ. Right? We've already established that. But your life is a reflection of who your father is because you're imitating them.”

#BewareFalseTeaching

“``As they do, this is a warning light that I hope is going off on the dashboard of your life, yelling, beware. Beware. Don't be deceived. Christians, our good father wants to protect us against deception. To protect us, he given us three attributes of antichrist that always expose them. They depart from the true teachings of Christ. They depart from true followers of Christ, and they try to deceive the true people of Christ. This is the way they work. Everything to oppose Jesus and his people.”

#NewHeavenNewEarth

“Why would he not stop pursuing that which leads to his continuous destruction? John's hoping the same thing will happen in those who read verses 15 through 17. You'll stop pursuing that which is passing away. Stop pursuing that which will lead to your own destruction. He says, the world's passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. One day this world is going to pass away. There's going be a new heaven and a new earth.”

#FaithThatShows

“You see for John, a Christian is not just a person who says they are, it is one who shows that they are. The litmus tests that he administers throughout this letter are meant to show us that we're truly saved And those tests are this, right doctrine of Christ, righteous living like Christ, and radical loving one another like Christ. All three are meant to give us assurance, give assurance to the saved. This letter needs to be preached today.”

#LoveShowsSalvation

“``If you struggle with doubt about your salvation, I'd ask you, do you love the brothers? John says love of other Christians is evidence that a person is in the light. Those who profess to be Christians today who said, I love Jesus, I want Jesus, but I want nothing to do with those Christians. They should really dip this test into their hearts because many will find they don't love Jesus either. Because if they love Jesus, they'd be keeping the command of Jesus and they'd love the people of Jesus.”

#FaithNotFaking

“There are many who are sitting in the seats of buildings like this all across America today who say they know Jesus, but they do not. I mean, Jesus himself warned when he said, there's gonna be people who say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we cast out demons in your name? Didn't we do mighty works in your name? And he's gonna look at them and say, I never knew you. I truly believe these people are gonna be surprised to hear these words.”

#HopeBeyondGrief

“You who are grieving see the shore. One day death will be no more. Can you imagine a creation where you'll never have to sit by another bedside watching a loved one die? Can you imagine a new creation where you never have to endure turning a machine off? You never have to go to another funeral. I'll never have to preach another funeral. This will be a characteristic of the new creation because Jesus has defeated death. There'll be no death in the new heaven and new earth. You are mourning and crying, see the shore. There'll be no more mourning, no more crying. You who are in pain, no pain anymore.”

#DivineJustice

“God is just. He is a righteous judge. As such, the just and right thing for God to do is to punish sin, and punish sin, he will. And sin is going to be punished in one of two ways. Either we guilty sinners will be punished for our sin in eternal hell where the wrath of God will be poured out on us forever, or we guilty sinners can turn to Christ who took the punishment for our sin on that cross. The wrath of God must be satisfied.”

#ContinualCleansing

“The cleansing here is a continual cleansing, which means when a true Christian sins, which we still will sin, when we sin, our sin never changes our righteous standing before God. Because through Jesus, we are continually cleansed from all of our sins. Our past, our present, and our future sins are all forgiven in Jesus. They're not forgiven because of our ongoing confession. They're forgiven because God is faithful and righteous to forgive us and cleanse us a continuous cleansing which he does and is done through the blood of his son.”

#ForgivenNotByConfession

“We're gonna dive deeper into confession next Sunday, but for now, don't wrongly think that your sins are only forgiven if you confess every one of them. Good luck remembering them all. What John is actually saying about confession is that since believers are forgiven by the faithful and righteous God through faith in Jesus, since those who have the truth within us are forgiven by him, our response to sin is to confess it to God. Stated another way, a believer's forgiveness is not because of our ongoing confession, rather our ongoing pattern of confession is because of the forgiveness that he has given us through his son Jesus Christ.”

#BaptismPrepLitmus

“This week, we were preparing the baptismal for a baptism we're doing at the end of the service today. And, when we do that, we it kinda really just involves three simple things. We we clean it, which I'm certain you're glad to hear that. Because we have yet to find a lid that really fits it, we fill it with water, and then we check the water with these little things we call litmus tests. They're they're pretty simple, pretty easy to use. If you've never used one, you take this small strip that has four squares on it,”

#AssuranceOfSalvation

“So if you are one of those people who struggle with doubts wondering, am I truly saved? First John is the letter for you. It will help you know for certain whether or not you're saved. But I will warn you, this letter will expose those who are not saved. Those who think they are but really aren't and it will also expose the false teachers in our world that say they are saved but they are not.”

#TeachUsToPray

“So basically, through Jesus's teaching, I wanna do what he did for his disciples. They asked him, Lord, teach us to pray and that's what I wanna do this morning. And some of you are like, well, isn't that what you've been doing? And I'd say, yes, but I've given you a lot. I've given you a lot to process and I even had someone last Sunday text me after the sermon and say, great sermon. Next time, could you give us more room on the notes? So I know we've covered a lot of ground in just a few sermons, and I know that”

#FavorableInChrist

“Now I wanna emphasize the word favorable because I understand that some might hear what I'm saying and go, what? I have to be completely sinless before God will hear and answer my prayers. And if this were the case, he would never hear and answer any of our prayers, people. Christ died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. He was buried, and three days later, he rose from the grave. The bible says all who've repented of their sins and placed their faith in him for salvation, they are given the righteousness of Christ, and they possess the privilege and promise of being heard by God and answered by him in prayer.”

#PrayConnected

“We all know cell phones don't work well when the conditions are right not right. I mean, we need a connection. We need correct alignment. We need clear receptions. The same is true when we're praying to God. We need a relationship with him. We need to pray according to his will, and we need to pray with faith. And his promise is this, he will hear and he will answer.”

#GodWorksThroughPrayer

“``And in this story, I wanna point out really just one timeless fact about prayer that I believe God will use to convince you of its effectiveness. And I'm I'm gonna give you the fact right in the beginning. Here here's the fact you're going to discover from this narrative and it's this, God often accomplishes his work in the world and in our lives through our prayers.”

#DevotedToPrayer

“``See, whenever Spurgeon was asked what the secret to was his for his ministry was, he never pointed to his great preaching. He would say, my people, for me. You see, Spurgeon, though known for his great preaching, led a church that was known for their devotion to prayer. That is my hope for our church as well. May it be said of us that we are devoted to prayer.”

#GospelFromScripture

“``Christians, the gospel that was preached to us, the gospel we heard, the gospel we believe, the gospel by which we are saved, it came from the Bible you're holding in your hands. I praise God every day that he ensured that his gospel would be preserved and passed down to us through his word so that we could hear it, believe it, and be saved by it. You see, God's word gives us instruction for salvation.”

#DevotedToFellowship

“Christians in every age should be devoted to the fellowship. We need one another to radically love one another, to instruct, to care, to serve, to bear one another's burdens, to encourage, to build up, to hold one another accountable, to pray for one another, to humble ourselves, to keep one another from falling into sin, to stir one another up to love and good works. We need one another.”