Passage: Daniel 7:1-28

Main Point: Stay focused on the Eternal King

Sermon Points:

1. A Disorienting Vision (v. 1-14)
2. A Reorienting Interpretation (v. 15-28)

Passage: Daniel 6:1-28

Passage: Daniel 5:1-31

Big Idea: Honor the Most high God before it is too late.

Sermon Points:

1. The Rebellious Party (v. 1-4)
2. The Party Crasher (v. 5-9)
3. The Party Saver (v. 10-12)
4. The Party Pooper (v. 13-29)
5. The Party's Over (v. 30-31)

Passage: Daniel 4:1-37

Big Idea: God will humble the proud so they acknowledge His rule over all.

Sermon Points:

1. A Testimony (v. 1-3)
2. A Warning (v. 4-27)
3. A Severe Humbling (v. 28-33)
4. A Reasonable Worship (v. 34-37)

Passage: Daniel 3:1-30

Big Idea: Convinced of God's Deliverance, stand firm.

Sermon Points:

1. The Decree (v. 1-7)
2. The Defiance (v. 8-18)
3. The (v. 19-30)

Passage: Daniel 2:1-49

Big Idea: Live with certainty of God's reign which He has revealed.

Sermon Points:

1. The Search for a Revealer (v. 1-30)
2. The Meaning of the Revelation (v. 31-49)

Passage: Daniel 1

Big Idea: Trust God as the Giver of judgment, favor, and divine wisdom.

Sermon Points:

1. God Gives Promised Judgement (v. 1-7)
2. God Gives Favor to the Humbly Repentant (v. 8-16)
3. God Gives Divine Wisdom in Exile (v. 17-21)

Passage: Mark 15:40-16:8

Big Idea: The powerful kingdom of God advances despite our weakness

Sermon Points:

1. The Weakness of the Faithful Looking on from a Distance (v. 40-41)
2. The Rising Courage of a Weak Minority (v.42-46)
3. The Astonishment and Fear of the First Witnesses (v. 1-8)

Passage: Mark 15:1-39

Big Idea: See the Son of God who was delivered over for you.

Sermon Points:

1. The Verdict Concerning the King
2. The Execution of the King

Passage: Mark 14:26-72

Big Idea: We must follow Jesus' example to triumph like He did.

Sermon Points:

1. Beware of Pride and Overconfidence (v. 26-31)
2. Learn the Power of Introspective Prayer (v. 32-42)
3. Admit Weakness and Accept Exposure (v. 43-52)
4. Gaze at the Glory of Jesus (v. 53-65)
5. Mourn Your Wretchedness (v. 66-72)

Passage: Mark 12:1-25

Big Idea: Display your devotion to your Deliverer. 

Sermon Points:

1. Costly Devotion (v. 1-11)
2. Costly Deliverance (v. 12-25)

Passage: Mark 13

Big Idea: However dark and difficult life gets, stay focused on gospel witness.

Sermon Points:

1. The Temple Will Be Destroyed (v. 1-4)

2. There Will Be Many False Leaders, Wars, Natural Disasters (v. 5-8)

   • Warning 1: Do Not Be Deceived or Alarmed

3. The Gospel Will Go To All Nations By Disciple’s Witness (v. 9-13)

   • Warning 2: You Must Endure Persecution and Hatred

4. There Will Be A Sign When To Flee Judea (v. 14-23)

   • Warning 3: Don’t Be Led Astray

5. Jesus Will Return When the Gospel Mission Is Complete (v. 24-27)

6. “These Things” Will Take Place In This Generation (v. 28-31)

7. Only The Father Knows When Jesus Will Return (v. 32-37)

   • Warning 4: Accept Limitations and Stay Awake

Passage: Mark 12:38-44

Big Idea: Follow the example of those that have a sincere and sacrificial faith.

Sermon Points:

1. An Unlikely Bad Example (v. 38-40)
2. An Unlikely Good Example (v. 41-44)

Passage: Mark 12:13-37

Big Idea: Convinced of who Jesus is, we commit to follow His teaching.

Sermon Points:

1. About The Beginning (v. 13-17)
2. About The End (v. 18-27)
3. About The Now (v. 28-34)
4. About Himself (v. 35-37)

Passage: Mark 11:27-12:12

Big Idea: Following Jesus means choosing God’s power instead of human power.

Sermon Points:

1. Human Power Despises God's Power (v. 27-33)
2. Human Power Kills God to Reign Supreme (v. 1-8)
3. God's Power Will Marvelously Prevail Over Human Power (v. 9-12)

Passage: Mark 11:1-25

Big Idea: Our alignment with what God wants will determine our blessing or cursing.

Sermon Points:

1. God Wants All People to Find Blessing in Him (v. 1-17a)
2. Prioritizing Our Wants Over God's End in a Curse (v. 17-20)
3. Prioritizing What God Wants Ends Up Moving Mountains (v. 21-25)

Passage: Mark 10:32-52

Big Idea: Desire to see Jesus clearly and follow Him on mission.

Sermon Points:

1. A Reminder (v. 32-34)
2. A Bad Request (v. 35-45)
3. A Good Request (v. 46-52)

Passage: Mark 10:13-31

Big Idea: Dependence on the King is required for entrance into His Kingdom

Sermon Points:

1. A Picture of Dependence (v. 13-16)
2. A Failure to Leave (v. 17-22)
3. A Warning (v. 23-28)
4. A Promise (v. 29-31)

Passage: Mark 10:1-12

Big Idea: The way of the cross softens hard hearts so marriages can flourish.

Sermon Points:

1. A Dangerous Topic (Vs 1-4)
2. The Heart of the Matter (Vs 5-9)
3. The Church's Divine Standard (Vs 10-12)

Takeaway: The way of the cross is a long, slow process of death to self that leads to life

Passage: Mark 9:30-50

Big Idea: To follow Jesus is to emulate the way of His cross.

Sermon Points:

1. The way of the cross is focused on being a servant to others, not self-promotion. (Vs 33-37)
2. The way of the cross is focused on Kingdom work, not self-importance. (Vs 38-41)
3. The way of the cross is focused on removing sin, not self-indulgence. (Vs 42-50)

Passage: Mark 9:1-29

Big Idea: Mountaintop faith grows strong when challenge through prayer.

Sermon Points:

1. Mountain-top Faith (Vs 1-8)
2. Confused Faith Coming Down the Mountain (Vs 9-13)
3. Faith Challenged In Our Fallen Human World (Vs 14-29)

Passage: Mark 8:22-38

Big Idea: Saving faith loses all to gain all in Jesus

Sermon Points:

1. Beginning Faith (Vs 27-30)
2. Confused Faith (Vs 31-33)
3. Mature Faith (Vs 34-38)

Passage: Mark 8:1-26

Big Idea: Beware of dull hearts that don't see Jesus

Sermon Points:

• A Second Chance to See (Vs 1-10)
• A Demand to See (Vs 11-13)
• Too Dull to See (Vs 14-21)
• Restored to See (Vs 22-26)

Passage: Mark 7:24-37

Big Idea: Jesus will meet the spiritual needs of anyone who comes to Him.

Sermon Points:

1. Spiritual Cleansing (vs 24-30)
2. Spiritual Perspective (vs 31-37)

Passage: Mark 6:53-7:23

Big Idea: We must focus on curing the evil within, not performing useless religious rituals. 

Sermon Points:

1. Hypocritical Religion is Useless and Dangerous (7:1-13)
2. Evil Comes from Within, Not from Outside (7:14-23)
3. Dirty Rotten Sinners

Passage: Mark 6:33-56

Big Idea: Like Jesus, good shepherds have compassion and courage.

Sermon Points:

1. Compassion for People (vs 33-46)
2. Courage Through the Night (vs 45-52)

Passage: Mark 6:7-32

Main Idea: Disciples of Jesus, call people to repentance, knowing the consequences.

Sermon Points:

1. The Responsibilities (Vs 7-13)
2. The Expectations (Vs 14-29)
3. The The Off (Vs 30-32)

Passage: Philippians 1:18-27

Big Idea: To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain

Sermon Points:

1. To Live is Christ
2. To Die is Gain

Passage: Mark 4:35-6:6

Big Idea: Jesus demonstrates His Divine Power so we can have resilient faith.

Sermon Points:

1. Power over Demons (5:1-20)
2. Power over Disease (5:21-34)
3. Power over Death (5:35-43)

Passage: Mark 4:21-34

Big Idea: God’s salvation is experienced through active faith in His Word.

Sermon Points: 

1. We Must Have Active Faith In God’s Word (Vs 21-25)

2. God’s Word Will Accomplish His Good Purposes (Vs 26-29) 

3. God’s Word Seems Small, But It Will Have the Biggest Impact (Vs 30-34)

Passage: Mark 4:1-20

Big Idea: Those who accept God’s word experience miraculously abundant life.

Sermon Points: 

1. The Story of a Farmer (Vs 1-9)
2. Secrets Revealed While Alone With Jesus (Vs 10-12)
3. Two Kinds of Hearers and the Miraculously Abundant Life (Vs 13-20) 

Passage: Mark 3:7-35

Big Idea: Jesus confronts our distortions of Him to bring us closer to Him

Sermon Points:

1. Jesus' Priority (Vs 7-19)
2. Jesus Authority (Vs 20-35)

Passage: Mark 2:18-3:6

Passage: Mark 2:13-17

Big Idea: Jesus calls sinners to experience and share His amazing grace.

Sermon Points:

1. A Surprising Call (Vs 13-14)
2. A Strategic Call (Vs 15)
3. A Scandalous Call (Vs 16-17)

Passage: Mark 2:1-12

Big Idea: Jesus can forgive and heal sinners.

Sermon Points:

1. Obstacles to Faith in Jesus (Vs 1-4)

2. Doubts about Jesus (Vs 6-7)

3. Jesus Has the Power to Forgive and Heal (Vs 8-12)

Passage: Mark 1:21-45

Big Idea: Follow the King whose Kingdom is unparalleled. 

Sermon Points:

1. The Kingdom’s Power (Vs 21-28)
2. The Kingdom’s Restoration (Vs 29-34)
3. The Kingdom’s Strategy (Vs 35-39)
4. The Kingdom’s People (Vs 40-45)

Passage: Mark 1:1-20

Big Idea: Those who repent, believe, and follow Jesus experience the life of God's kingdom.

Sermon Points:

1. Repent (Vs 1-8)
2. Believe (Vs 9-15)
3. Follow (Vs 16-20)

Passage: Psalm 42-43

Big Idea: Persist in hope for God’s presence.

Sermon Points:

1. The Circumstances (42:1-5)
2. The Reminder (42:6-11)
3. The Requests (43:1-5)

Passage: Psalm 1

Big Idea: God blesses those who delight in His Way.

Sermon Points:

1. The Blessed People Who Delight in God’s Word (Vs 1-3) 
2. The Wicked Who Do Not Delight in God’s Word (Vs 4-5) 

3. The Judge Who Blesses and Curses (Vs 6) 

Passage: Psalm 110

Big Idea: Joyfully give your allegiance to God's King

Sermon Points:

1. Who is the King? (v. 1)
2. Why would we devote ourselves to Him?
   1. His Rule is Good (v. 2-3)
   2. He's an Eternal Priest (v. 4)
   3. He's the Victorious Warrior (v. 5-7)

Passage: Selected Proverbs

Big Idea: Life-giving speech comes from a renewed heart.

Sermon Points:

1. Life-giving Speech is True, Not False
2. Life-giving Speech Uses Few Words, Not Many
3. Life-giving Speech is Gracious, Not Angry

4. Life-giving Speech Comes From the Heart, Not Just the Tongue

Passage: Psalm 103

Sermon Points:

1. Remembering what He has Done (vs 1-5)
2. Reflection on who He is (vs 6-18)
3. Rejoicing with the Rest of the Realm (vs 19-22)

Passage: Selected Proverbs

Big Idea: Our relationship to money reveals much about our relationship to God.

Sermon Points:

1. God created us to engage in profitable work.
2. God gives many better gifts in life than wealth.
3. Wealth can be God's blessing, but it should not be pursued.

Passage: Amos 9:1-15

Big Idea: God’s judgments are purifying a people for future blessing.

Sermon Points:

1. Judgment Is Certain For Those Who Disregard God’s Warnings (vs 1-10)
2. Judgment Has A Purpose: A Purified, Responsive People (vs 8-12)

3. Blessing Is Certain For Those Who Respond to His Call (vs 13-15)

Passage: Amos 8:4-14

Passage: Amos 7:1-8:3

Passage: Amos 5:18-6:14

Big Idea: God hates pride, but loves humble justice and righteousness.

Sermon Points:

1. God Hates Proud Religion, but Loves Humble Righteousness (5:18-27)
2. God Hates Proud Leadership but Loves Humble Justice (6:1-14)

Passage: Matthew 20:29-34

Big Idea: King Jesus shows compassion to those who approach him w/ humble faith.

Passage: Amos 5:1-17

Sermon Points:

A. Funeral Song (vs 1-3)

B. Seek Me and Live (vs 4-5)

C. Seek the Lord and Live (vs 6-9)

B. Seek Good and Live (vs 10-15)

A. Funeral Song (vs 16-17)

Passage: Amos 4:4-13

Big Idea: God’s blessing comes only when we repent of our rebellion.

Sermon Points:

1. Rebellious Religion (vs 4-6)
2. God’s Judgments to Reform and Bless (vs 6-11)

3. Final Judgment: Prepare To Meet Your God (vs 12-13)

Application Points:

1. Beware of Rebellious Religion
2. Return to God when He disciplines you

Passage: Amos 3:9-4:5

Sermon Points:

1. The Sentencing (Vs 3:9-15)
2. The Culprit (Vs 4:1-5)

Passage: Amos 2:6-3:8

Big Idea: God saves people to honor Him with holy lives

Sermon Points:

1. God's Saved People Are Dishonoring Him (Vs 2:6-12)
2. God's Promises Punishment (Vs 2:13-16)
3. God's Personal Plea (Vs 3:1-8)

Application Points:

1. We Must Take Sin As Seriously As God Does
2. Let's Pursue and Enjoy God's Salvation to the Fullest

Passage: Amos 1-2:5

Passage: Proverbs 31:10-31

Big Idea: The wise woman is a valuable asset to all around her.

Sermon Points:

1. The Wise Woman Benefits Her Husband & Children (Vs. 11-12, 23, 28-29, 31)
2. The Wise Woman Engages in Profitable and Generous Activity (Vs. 13-22, 24-25, 27)
3. The Wise Woman Fears the Lord (Vs. 26, 30)

Takeaways:

1. What About Women Who Aren't Wives/Mothers?
2. Let God's Word Teach You Wisdom
3. Let's All Embrace God's Design and Grace

Passage: Acts 28:11-31

Passage: Acts 27:1-28:16

Passage: 1 Corinthians 15

Big Idea: Resurrection is essential to Christianity

Sermon Points:

1. Resurrection: A Gospel Reminder (Vs 1-11)
2. Resurrection: A Gospel Necessity (Vs 12-34)
3. Resurrection: The Gospel Hope (Vs 35-58)

Application Points: 

1. Eternal Life begins with Belief in the Gospel
2. Belief Determines Behavior
3. Behavior Determines Destiny

Passage: Acts 25:1-26:32

Sermon Points:

1. A Confusing Story (Ch 25:1-27)
2. An Incredible Story (Ch 26:1-23)
3. A Persuasive Story (Ch 26:24-32)

Passage: Acts 24:1-27

Big Idea: Injustice is an opportunity to shine gospel light in this dark world

Sermon Points:

1. An Unjust Accusation (vs 1-9)
2. A Just Defense and Some Gospel Light (vs 10-21)
3. An Unjust Judge and Judgement (vs 22-27)

Application Points:

1. We must not be surprised or embittered by Injustice.
2. We must strive to have a clear conscience in Injustice.
3. We must look for gospel opportunities in Injustice.

Passage: Acts 22:30 - 23:35

Passage: Acts 21:1-22:30

Big Idea: God’s people do God’s will - no matter what.

Sermon Points:

1. God’s People Are Willing to Suffer For God’s Will (21:1-14)
2. Misunderstood for Prioritizing God’s Will to Save the Lost (21:15-26)
3. Defending God’s Will to Save the Lost (21:27-22:29)

4. Unexpected Protection and Gospel Opportunity (22:23-29)

Takeaway: We Must Be Clear About God’s Will To Save Lost Sinners

Passage: Acts 20:17-38

Big Idea: Jesus cares for His church through faithful elders.

Sermon Points:

1. Faithful Elders Profitably Teach All of God’s Word (vs 18-27)

2. Faithful Elders Care For and Protect Their Church (vs 28-32)

3. Faithful Elders Generously Give of Themselves to Benefit Their Church (vs 33-35)

Passage: Acts 20:1-16

Passage: Acts 19:21-41

Passage: Acts 18:24-19:20

Passage: Acts 18:1-23

Big Idea: God helps us to persevere and fulfill His purpose for our life.

Sermon Points:

1. Friendship (vs 1-3)
2. Fruitful Ministry (vs 4-8)
3. Fellowship with God (vs 9-11)
4. Freedom of Religion (vs 12-17)
5. Furlough (vs 18-23)

Passage: Acts 17:16-34

Big Idea: Spiritual provocation should lead us to gospel proclamation.

Sermon Points:

1. Spiritual Provocation leads to reasoned conversations (vs 16-21)
2. Gospel = True Knowledge of God and His call call to repent (vs 22-33)
3. Gospel beginnings often start small (vs 34)

Takeaways

1. Let’s rightly understand and channel “righteous anger.

    

2. Understand your audience and rightly apply God’s Word. 

Passage: Acts 17:1-15

Big Idea: A reasonable explanation of God’s Word inspires faith in the noble and opposition in the jealous.

Sermon Points:

1. Calm Reason vs. Irrational Jealousy (vs 1-8)
2. Noble Reception vs. Militant Jealousy (vs 10-15) 

Takeaways:

1. Be Aware of Jealousy’s Destructive Power

2. Beware of Jealousy’s Destructive Power

3. We Must Nobly Share God’s Word 

Passage: Acts 16:6-40

Big Idea: Gospel expansion brings joyous welcome and violent expansion.

Sermon Points:

1. Divine Direction (vs 6-12)
2. A Warm Gospel Reception (vs 13-15)
3. A Violent (Gospel) Opposition (vs 16-24)
4. A Dramatic Salvation Story (vs 25-34)
5. A Shrewd Response to Injustice (vs 35-40)

Passage: Acts 15:36-16:5

Big Idea: The Goal of Missions is Strong Churches

Sermon Points:

1. Strong Churches Reproduce Strong Churches
2. Strong Churches Require Generational Discipleship
   1. Barnabus & Mark - Second Chances (15:36-41)
   2. Paul & Timothy - Mission First (16:1-5)

Passage: Acts 15:1-35

Passage: Acts 14:1-28

Passage: Acts 13:1-52

Passage: Acts 12:1-25 

Big Idea: The Church is a mix of God's power & human weakness.

Sermon Points:

1. The Weakness of the Church (vs 1-5a)
2. The Power of God in the Church (vs 5b-11)
3. The Weakness of the Church (vs 12-17)
4. The Power of God against the Proud (vs 18-24)

Takeaways:

1. We still Live Under the Curse of Conflict
2. God Chooses the Weak to Eliminate Human Pride
3. Embrace Human Weakness and Look for the Power of God

Passage: Acts 11:1-30

Big Idea: God is dissolving human divisions into rich relationships in Christ.

Sermon Points:

1. Dissolving Human Divisions (vs 1-18)
2. Rich Gospel Relationship (vs 19-30
   1. Jerusalem to Antioch (vs 19-26)
   2. Antioch to Jerusalem (vs 27-30)

Takeaway: Abandon unnecessary divisions and make Gospel friendships.

Passage: Acts 9:32 - 10:48

Big Idea: In Jesus, God is equalizing and uniting all of humanity.

Sermon Points:

1. Great Blessings for Jewish Christians (9:32-43)
2. God Sees a Gentile Praying (10:1-8)
3. God Makes Changes to Save Gentiles (10:9-33)
4. Jews and Gentiles Becoming One in Christ (10:34-48)

Takeaways:

1. Fear the Impartial Judge
2. We must show no partiality

Passage: Acts 9:1-31

Big Idea: Jesus' Power & Mercy turn His Enemies into Loyal Friends.

Sermon Points:

1. A Violent Enemy (vs 1-2)
2. A Humbling Encounter (vs 3-9)
3. A Surprising Baptism (vs 10-19)
4. An Unexpected Apologist (vs 20-30)
5. A Time of Peace and Growth (vs 31)

Application Points:

1. Love & Pray for our Enemies
2. Rejoice with Heaven when Sinners Repent

Passage: Acts 8:26-40

Big Idea: God uses us to bring Jesus’s salvation to all the world.

Sermon Points:

1. The Initiating God (vs 26, 29, 39)
2. The Obedient Deacon (vs 27, 30, 40)
3. The Teachable Treasurer (vs 27-28, 31, 34)
4. The Glorious Result: Faith and Joy (vs 36-39)

Application: Accept Secret Things and Believe Revealed Things

Preacher: Greg Alles

Passage: Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

Sermon Points:

The Man:

1. Wise
2. Effective Teacher

The Message:

The Message Is...

1. Convicting
2. Stabilizing
3. Inspired
4. Fear God and Keep His Commandments

Preacher: Greg Alles

Passage: Ecclesiastes 11:1 - 12:8

Sermon Points:

1. Where We Are: Under The Sun
2. What We Experience: Vanity, Evil, Trouble
3. Who God Is: 1 - Vanity, Evil, Trouble 2 - Joy
4. How Do We Respond?

Four Final Quiet Words of the Wise:

1. Be Generous
2. Be a Sower
3. Be Joyful
4. Be Godly 

Preacher: Greg Alles

Passage: Ecclesiastes 9:13 - 10:20

Big Idea: Saving Wisdom is Despised and Ignored Under the Sun

Sermon Points:

The Fear of God/Wisdom in Ecclesiastes:

1. To trust God is doing a beautiful work in time, and humbly submit to His correction rather than resist Him.
2. To carefully listen to God rather than talk a lot.
3. To have a right self-assessment before God that is not overly righteous or too wise.
4. To not be corrupted by evil power when the wicked prosper.
5. To keep God's commandments knowing judgement is coming.

Four Quiet Words of the Wise:

1. Beware of Folly in High Places
2. Be Wise at Work
3. Be Wise with Words
4. Be Wise About Money

Preacher: Greg Alles

Passage: Ecclesiastes 9:1-12

Big Idea: In the midst of death and judgement there can be joy.

Sermon Points:

Four Truths About Death -

1. We all are under the judgement of death.
2. Death is the just judgement for evil human hearts.
3. Death ends the opportunities of life.
4. Death is unpredictable and sometimes sudden.

The Love of God -

1. The living have hope.
2. God has good gifts that can be enjoyed.

Preacher: Greg Alles

Passage: Ecclesiastes 8:2-17

Big Idea: God fearers joyfully submit to governing authority and refuse to be corrupted by power.

Sermon Points:

1. Power Commands
2. Power Corrupts

Application Points:

4 Responses to Power and Corruption

1. Subject yourself to governing authorities.
2. Fear God
3. Be joyful
4. Don't think you can figure it all out - trust God.

Preacher: Greg Alles

Passage: Ecclesiastes 6:10-8:1

Sermon Points:

1. Whatever has come to be
2. What is Man?
3. How to get this Wisdom
   • Through Wise Conduct
     1. Through mourning not parties and laughter.
     2. Through wise rebuke not songs of fools.
     3. Avoid corrupting activities.
     4. Avoid danger and be patient.
     5. Don't think life was better in the past.
4. Consider God's Work and Fear God
   • God's Work
     1. God makes days of prosperity and adversity - and we have no control or pre-knowledge of what our days will be like.
     2. God allows good things to happen to "bad people", and bad things to happen to "good people".
   • The Wise Responses to God's Work
     1. Don't be Overly Righteous.
     2. Don't be Too Wise.
     3. Don't be Overly Wicked or a Fool.

Goads & Nails:

1. We Need a Humble Self-Evaluation before God.
2. Hope in God Alone.

Preacher: Greg Alles

Passage: Ecclesiastes 5:10-6:9

Sermon Points:

1. Love of money does not satisfy (5:10-12)
   • 2 Things Money Can't Buy
     1. Enough Stuff
     2. Sleep
2. Grievous Evil #1: Riches Guarded and Lost (5:13-17)
3. The Good Life: God Gives Satisfaction (5:18-20)
   • 3 Fold Gift of God (5:19)
     1. The "power to enjoy" wealth and possessions.
     2. Accept one's lot.
     3. Rejoice in one's work.
4. Grievous Evil #2: Riches Gained but Not Enjoyed (6:1-6)
   • Having wealth does not equal enjoying wealth.
5. Working to Feed Desire Does Not Satisfy (6:7-9)
6. The Better Way: Want What You Have

Application Points: Goads & Nails

1. Don't Love Money - Love God

• • 4 Questions
    1. Are you enjoying life?
    2. Are you anxious?
    3. Are you content with what you have?
    4. Are you humble and generous?

Preacher: Greg Alles

Passage: Ecclesiastes 4:4-5:9

Sermon Points:

1. The Success of Envy
2. The Lonely Workaholic
3. Continual Disappointment with Leaders
4. Evil in Religion
5. The Oppression and Injustice of Bureaucracy

Application Points:

The Better Way:

1. A Balanced Life of Rest and Work
2. Prioritize Relationships Over Career and Wealth
3. Choose Wise Leaders over Fools if you can, but don't except too much
4. Carefully Listen to God
5. The Best Leaders are Ordinary People Who Serve

Preacher: Greg Alles

Passage: Ecclesiastes 3:1 - 4:3

Sermon Points:

1. Good and Evil Under the Sun (1-10)
2. Faith, Not Sight (11-15)
   • Observation: In our experience of good and evil under the sun, we cannot understand what God is doing.
   • 2 Insights:
     1. Joy and Goodness (3:12-13)
     2. Fear and Reconciliation (3:14-15)
   • Goad: It is better to admit you don't understand, than to think you know better than God.
3. What We See - Vanity and Evil Under the Sun (3:16-22, 4:1-3)
   • 10 Vanities that Challenge Faith in God's Goodness.
     1. Wickedness Everywhere (16-17)
     2. Death Like the Animals (18-22)
     3. Oppression and Evil (1-3)

Preacher: Greg Alles

Passage: Ecclesiastes 1:16-2:26

Observation of Vanity #2: More Wisdom and Knowledge = More Sorrow and Vexation.

Sermon Points:

1. The Great Search (1-11)
2. No Gain (12-23)
   1. Evil #1: The wise die and are forgotten just like the fool.
   2. Evil #2: Who gets all my stuff?
3. The Gift (24-26)

Big Idea: The Good Life is not a human achievement to be gained, it is a gift that only comes from God.

Goads and Nails:

1. The Good Life is not a Human Accomplishment.
2. The Good Life is a Gift that only Comes from God.

Preacher: Greg Alles

Passage: Ecclesiastes 1:1-15

Observations of Vanity:

1. All Work, No Gain
   • 2 Results of Toil
     • Weariness
     • No Satisfaction in Life
2. This "Evil Business" is given by God

Goads & Nails:

1. Give up any and all hope or trust in fallen humanity.
2. Put all hope and trust completely in God through Jesus Christ.
3. Live the "Better" Way.

Preacher: Greg Alles

Passage: Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

Sermon Points:

1. Unique Characteristics of Ecclesiastes
   1. Shocking
   2. Puzzling
2. Authorship
   1. Ecclesiastes is inspired by God and useful for us today.
3. Keys to Unlocking Ecclesiastes

    

    

    

   1. “Under the Sun”
   2. “Vanity, Evil, Trouble”
   3. God

Takeaways:

• We must understand and accept the truth about Where We Are - we are “under the sun.”

• We must understand and accept the truth about What We Experience - we experience “vanity, evil, and trouble.”

• We must understand and accept Who God Is and how we should respond to Him - We should fear God.

How to get the most from Ecclesiastes:

1.  Read next week’s reading every day

2.  Memorize Romans 8:18-26 in the next 12 weeks

3.  Identify the “Goads and Nails” (12:11)

Passage: Acts 8:1b-25

Big Idea: God’s word brings the joy of salvation and attracts the pride of pretenders.

Sermon Points:

1. Persecution Results In Gospel Growth (vs 1b-4)
2. The Joy of Salvation (vs 5-13)
3. Exposing Self-Promoters (vs 14-24)

Takeaway: Choose Church Leaders Very Carefully

Passage: Acts 6:8-8:3

Passage: Acts 6:1-9

Sermon Points:

1. The Problem
2. The Priority
3. The Plan

Passage: Acts 5:12-42

Sermon Points: 

1. Why is Resilience even needed? (vs 12-26)
2. Where do we find such Resilience? (vs 27-39)
3. What does Resilience look like? (vs 40-42)

Passage: Acts 4:32-5:11

Big Idea: To enjoy God’s grace we must have a proper fear of God

Sermon Points:

1. Enjoying Great Grace (4:32-37)
2. A Proper Fear of God (5:1-11)

Application Points:

1. We should Practice Grace Based Giving
2. We must Beware of Lying to God

Passage: Acts 3 - 4:31

Big Idea: God empowers us to take the good news of Jesus into a hostile world.

Sermon Points: 

1. The Opportunity (3:1-10)
2. Speaking of Jesus (3:11-26)
3. Acceptance & Opposition (4:1-22)
4. Praying for Help (4:23-31)

Takeaways:

1. We Must Embrace the Exclusivity of Jesus

2. We Must Seek God’s Help to Speak This Message Boldly

Passage: Acts 2:42-47

Big Idea: Devotion to simple church life has glorious outcomes.

Sermon Points:

4 Devotions of Simple Church Life

1. The Word
2. The Fellowship
3. The Breaking of Bread
4. The Prayers

3 Glorious Outcomes

1. Awe (vs 43)
2. Needs Met With Gladness, Generosity, and Praise (vs 44-47a)
3. Growth (42a)

Takeaway: Devote Yourself Afresh to God

Passage: Acts 2:1-41

Big Idea: Jesus alone is the Lord Who can save us from a corrupt and doomed world.

Sermon Points:

1. The Last Days
2. The Lord
3. Salvation

2 Observations about Tongues:

1. The tongues at Pentecost were understandable languages

    

2. In Acts, Joel and the NT, prophesy is given greater emphasis than tongues.

Passage: Acts 1:15-26

Big Idea: God’s Word teaches us how to understand and respond to disciples who turn against Jesus.

Sermon Points:

1. Those who return evil for good, experience evil. vs 15-20

2. The Unfaithful Are Replaced By the Faithful. vs 20b-26

Observation: Many things we read of in Acts are descriptive, not prescriptive.

Takeaways:

1. We Should Not Be Surprised or Shaken by False Leaders and Those Who Fall Away

2. Make the Most of Your Opportunity

Passage: Acts 1:1-14

Big Idea: The Church is the Spirit-empowered witness of Jesus.

Sermon Points:

1. Stay Focused on Primary Issues 

    

2. Live by the Spirit’s Power

    

3. Live in Hope of Jesus’ Return 

    

4. Devote Ourselves to Prayer