newlifepembrokepines

The Heart of a Servant

SERIES: THE HEART OF JESUS (John 13:1-5,12-17, Mk 10:43-45)
The disciples had just been guilty of arguing about who would be first in the Kingdom (Luke 22:24), but they were not arguing about who would be first to take the position of a servant and wash the others’ feet. None of them was willing to volunteer, because that was the job of the lowliest servant, and it might lessen their respect in the eyes of the other disciples. And if they did it this time, they might get stuck with it. After all, they were not aspiring to a towel and basin, they had their eyes set on a crown and scepter.

The fact is that none of them picked up the towel and basin and then suddenly Jesus got up and did something that shocked all of them, He began to wash their feet. This one act was a powerful revelation of the heart of Jesus, a servants heart, a heart that we must all have, if we would be like Jesus. Jesus’ actions in washing the disciples’ feet is so shocking that Peter protests and tries to stop Jesus saying “No master, you will never wash my feet,” but Jesus was teaching them a crucial lesson that He never wanted them or us to forget.  

Where Are You?

3/9/14 Sunday 6:30 PM Service
SERIES: FAMOUS QUESTIONS OF THE BIBLE
(Gen 3:1-13)
“Where are you?” This is the very first question that God asks in the garden of Eden, and it is a question that He is still asking everyone of us today. It is a question of the utmost importance and relevance to us, so we want to consider why God asked this question, and what is our response.

A Heart of Mercy

SERIES: THE HEART OF JESUS
3/9/14
(Matt 9:9-13)
This is Matthew’s own testimony of how Jesus came to him, a despised tax collector. The Jewish leaders viewed him as unacceptable to God, the chiefest of sinners. Yet, Jesus called him to be one of his followers. Jesus even goes to his house to eat, and Matthew invites all of his sinner friends to come and meet Jesus, much to the chagrin of the religious leaders.

As we study this passage, we see that it reveals several powerful truths about Jesus’ heart of mercy, and it makes clear that He expects us to have his heart as well.

Heart Transplant Needed

Series: The Heart of Jesus
3/2/14
Becoming a Christian is not just about trying to be a better person, or fixing some bad habits. It is about becoming an entirely new person. Ezekiel speaks of this experience in terms of a spiritual heart transplant. This heart transplant is the essence of what it means to be a Christian; to have a relationship with God.

The heart, as used here in Ezekiel refers to the center or the core of our being, the inner person. In the biblical sense of the word, the heart refers to the seat of our personality, the center of our emotion, our intellect/thoughts life and  our will or volition. Your heart is who you are. Prov 4:23 exhorts us to “guard our heart with all diligence because out of it flows the issues of life.” Our entire life emanates from our heart: our values, our priorities, our desires our ambitions, our actions. That is why a heart transplant is critical if we are to live lives that are pleasing to God.

For this reason, it is crucial for us to understand why we need this transplant, who performs the heart transplant, and whose heart is it transplanted into us.

God's Covenant, Our Commitment

Series: An Awesome Church
2/23/14
Jacob had an incredible experience with God alone in the wilderness, and it not only changes his life, but it changed the place where he was.
A place with a crooked and perverse reputation becomes known as Bethel, the House of God.
A place separated from God by sin, becomes a place of connection with God, a gateway to heaven.

S. Florida currently has a reputation for crime and sensuality, but I believe God wants to transform this place that it might become a place known for God’s presence, a place where people meet God and they are saved, healed, delivered and restored. And I believe this passage reveals to us two essential elements required for this place to become an awesome place, an awesome church. 

A Transformational Church

Series: An Awesome Church
2/16/14
At this nondescript place in the desert a powerful transformation takes place. It is a place where Jacob would begin a journey of personal transformation, and a place where eventually, in Gen. 32, he would be changed from Jacob, the deceiver, to Israel, one who has power with God. It is a place of community transformation, where a crooked and perverse city called Luz, was transformed to Bethel, the House of God. A place of separation, became a place of connection with God, a gateway to heaven.

That is exactly what God wants to do in Pembroke Pines, Florida in 2014. He wants to transform your life and mine, that we might become people who have power with God. And he wants to transform this city, a crooked and perverse place, and there couldn’t be a more apt description of South Florida: a place that has a reputation of being dominated by fleshly lust, sinful pursuits, and godlessness; and a place where 95% of the population is unsaved. But God wants to transform this city into a Bethel.

Several important truths speak to us from the story of Jacob, that are essential to transform lives and cities for the glory of God.

What Makes a Church Awesome?

Series: An Awesome Church
2/9/14
On the run, in a barren wilderness, alone, and tired, Jacob stopped for the night. The place is described as a certain place, because it could be anywhere really. What is important is not its geographical location, but what happened in that place. Jacob encountered God in a real and powerful way. In V17, Jacob declared, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
        
When I read the words it grasped my heart, and I began to think about what makes a church more than just a building, just a location on a map. What makes a church, an awesome church, the house of God. How did a certain place become an awesome place? How did Luz, become Bethel (God’s house, v.19)? How was a pagan town transform into a gateway to God?  What will it take to transform the place where God has called us into a gateway to heaven?

Several truths stood out to me from the story of Jacob, that I believe are the characteristics of an awesome church, the House of God.

The Church of Our Dreams

Series: An Awesome Church
1/25/14
Crossing a barren wilderness, alone and at night, Jacob lay down and slept, using a stone for a pillow. In his dreams he saw a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

This dream was a revelation from God. Jacob heard God calling him by name and making him the same promise that he had made to Abraham and Isaac.  God revealed to Jacob the future that He desired, that He intended for His people. That’s what vision is all about. It is God’s intended future for His people.

V 16 says, that when Jacob awoke, “he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”For that reason the title of this series is An Awesome Church. We want to be an awesome place, where people encounter God, and their lives are transformed.

Today’s message is titled “The Church of Our Dreams,” because Jacob’s dream reveals to us several key truths about God’s vision for His people that I believe God is also speaking to His Church at this time.

Carnal or Consecrated?

Wednesday Series: That Happens in Church?
1/22/14
Paul could very well have addressed 1 Corinthians to "the church at Pembroke Pines" or whatever city where your church is located, because it is just as applicable to the church today, as it was then. The issues they faced, the things that were happening in that church, still happen in church today.

This message deals with the commendation of the church, the condition of the church, and the call of the church.

The Prayer of Agreement

Series: Pray Like Jesus
Matt 18:18-20 gives us an amazing promise! Something powerful happens when God’s people pray in agreement. Prayer’s get answered. Heaven is moved and earth is impacted.

When we come into agreement we have the authority to bind the works of darkness, and release the storehouses of heaven’s blessings on earth. There is tremendous power in the prayer of agreement.

But what is the prayer of agreement? It means much more than just saying the same words, or saying “Amen” as someone leads in prayer.

Today, we want to look carefully at the pray of agreement, what it entails and how to pray it, so we too can move heaven to impact earth.